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THE 



EPODES SATIRES AND EPISTLES 



OF HORACE 



THE EPODES, SATIRES, AND 



EPISTLES OF 



HORACE. 



TRANSLATED BY THE LATE 

REV. FRANCIS HOWES, M. A. 

MINOR CANON OF NORWICH CATHEDRAL, 

AUTHOR OF A TRANSLATION OF PERSIUS, MISCELLANEOUS POETICAL 

TRANSLATIONS, ETC. ETC. 




LONDON 

WILLIAM PICKERING 

1845 



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Gift 

W. L. Shoemaker 

7 3 '06 



C. WHITTINGHAM, CHISWICK. 




TO 
SIR JOHN WILLIAMS, 

ONE OF THE JUDGES OF THE QUEENS BENCH 

ETC. ETC. ETC. 

AN OLD AND VALUED FRIEND OF THE LATE AUTHOR, 

THE FOLLOWING TRANSLATION IS 

RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 

BY 



THE EDITOR. 



CONTENTS. 

Page 

INTRODUCTION ix 

-*- Epodes 3 

The Secular Ode 31 

The Satires Book 1 37 

Book II 87 

The Epistles Book 1 143 

Book II 199 

The Notes 246 




INTRODUCTION. 



IN fending the following tranflation into the world, 
the Editor regrets that it mould fhare the common 
fate of pofthumous publications — that of incomplete- 
nefs. Happily the deficiency that remains to be fup- 
plied to complete a Tranflation of the works of Ho- 
race, confifts in that portion of them, the Odes, of 
which Englifh verifications may be generally thought 
to be already fufficiently abundant. Yet it is fcarcely 
probable that the Author, had his life and health 
been fpared, would have fuiFered fo (comparatively) 
fmall a portion of his arduous talk to remain unex- 
ecuted. 

Touching the degree of fuccefs which may be 
thought to attend the prefent endeavour to convey an 
accurate perception of the fenfe and fpirit of Horace to 
the Englifh reader, the Editor is well aware that no ob- 
fervations of his own could obtain a verdict, not com- 
manded by the intrinfic merit of the work. He only 
afks for that indulgence, which is due to every work 
that lacks the finifhing ftroke of the hand that firft 
projected it. In preparing the following volume for 



x Introduction. 

publication, he has had frequent occafion to lament 
his inability to fupply the ' ' note to be inferted," or to 
make fuch additions as might poffibly have prefented 
themfelves to the Author : but the text of the tranf- 
lation itfelf appears before the public, nearly if not 
precifely in the form it would have done, had the 
publication enjoyed the full advantage of the Author's 
fuperintendence. 

That the attempt to transfufe into Englifh verfe 
any (even a diftant) approximation to the real and 
peculiar beauties of Horace, is one of undoubted dif- 
ficulty, the moll ordinary Horatian fcholar muft be 
well aware. With great juftice it has been obferved 
that " poetical tranflation is of all kinds of compofi- 
tion that in which thepojfible praife bears the fmalleft 
proportion to its inherent difficulty and labour."* 
And if this remark be true as applied generally to all 
poetical tranflation, more peculiarly is it fo as applied 
to a tranflation of Horace. Who is there from the 
fchool-boy upwards to the matureft fcholar that has 
not experienced a greater or lefs degree of difficulty 
in tracing accurately the thread and connection of the 
writer's thoughts — the tenui dedutta poem at a filo ? 
No one could be more impreifed than the Author of 
the following tranflation with the many and great im- 
pediments that prefent themfelves to a really fatisfac- 
tory Englifh verfification of Horace. In the Intro- 
duction to his Tranflation of Perfius, publifhed in 

* Quarterly Review, vol. 49. On Wright's Tranflation of 
Dante, 



Introduction, xi 

1 809, he obferves, fpeaking of the three Roman Sati- 
rifts, Perfius, Juvenal, and Horace : — 

" With refpect to the comparative difficulty of 
tranflating thefe- three Satirifts, I confider Juvenal as 
by far the eafieft ; Perfius comes next after a confider- 
able interval; and Horace is much more difficult 
than either of the former. Notwithftanding this dif- 
ficulty an approximation may be made to a good tranf- 
lation, at leaft to one better than any which has hi- 
therto appeared ; for both that of Francis and the 
Duncombes are very flat and infipid." 

In the fame Introduction from which the above 
obfervations are extracted, there appear a few remarks 
upon Horace as a Satirift, which may not be regarded 
as altogether out of place, if inferted here. Alluding 
to the common comparifon that is militated between 
the heroes of Roman Satire, the author goes on to 
obferve : — 

" A comparifon which weighs their various merits 
in the fame fcale, muft of neceffity be unfair and in- 
conclufive. It is a queftion which cannot be referred 
to any fixed ftandard ; fince every reader will adopt 
as his favourite, him whofe turn is moft congenial 
with his own. He that is fond of arch raillery at 
the foibles of mankind, will prefer Horace ; he that 
burns with indignation at its vices, will cry up Juvenal : 
and a third, who relifhes keen irony and jeering far- 
cafm at its abfurdities, will attach himfelf to Perfius." 

And fubfequently fpeaking of Horace alone, after 
having alluded to the various circumilances, which 



xii Introduction. 

might probably exert their influence in deciding the 
diftinguifhing traits of his poetry, he adds : — 

" Such were the circumftances in which Horace 
entered upon the compofition of fatire, with a tafte 
refined by the ftudy of the Grecian poets, and a pen 
practifed in that fpecies of poetical compofition which 
above all others demands a delicate nicety of expref- 
fion. His Satires are accordingly what we fhould 
expect; replete with fprightly urbanity and good- 
humoured wit ; feafoned with all poflible elegance 
and terfenefs of diction, void of affectation and pe- 
dantic ftiffnefs ; without any very difgufting fervili- 
ties, yet without any fpice of morofe and gloomy 
acrimony, calculated rather to raife a laugh at the 
lighter foibles of the world, than a fneer at its vanities 
or a frown at its crimes. One characteriftic trait in 
Horace is the addrefs and dexterity with which he 
flings his oblique flrokes of raillery. He never feems 
to find fault for the fole fake of finding fault. His fly- 
eft blows are conveyed in a parenthelis. In fhort he 
has the air of one that ridicules the world by the way, 
and hits the very mark intended, without appearing 
fo much as to take aim at it. Horace has by fome 
been blamed for the loofe profaic texture of many of 
his verfes, which has been imputed to flovenly neg- 
ligence. Had all his verfes been of this defcription, 
or had they been fuch in any one fatire throughout, 
we mufl have allowed him to be, as he defcribes Lu- 
cilius, 



Introduction. xiii 

Emundtee naris, durus componere verfus. 

But thefe feemingly negligent verfes will be rarely 
found to extend to any confiderable number at a time. 
They are moft applied where there is the leaft eleva- 
tion in the thought ; that is, where any other ftruc- 
ture of verfe would be out of place ; for nothing can 
be more monftrous than plain common-fenfe dreft up 
in Epic dignity of numbers. They are befides al- 
moft always preceded or followed by one or more 
lines of harmonious cadence or compact ftrength. 
Thus does this flagging kind of verification, feafon- 
ably introduced, not only give to Horace's hexame- 
ters an air of unftudied eafe and graceful negligence, 
but ferves alfo to diverfify rhythm in fuch a manner, 
that the ear is never tired with a monotonous famenefs 
of found. It is art concealing art, and in adopting 
it he follows his own admirable rule by acting occa- 
iionally the part of one ' parcentis viribus atque ex- 
tenuantis eas confulto? It conftitutes the light and 
fhade of his poetry, and is the rudder by v/hich he 
contrives 

to fteer 
rom grave to gay, from lively to fevere." 

The Editor offers no apology for the above copious 
extracts, for they are the only extant remarks of the 
Tranflator upon his poet. In conclufion he has 
only to obferve that in the difcharge of his duties as 
Editor, he has confined himfelf to the fimple fuper- 



xiv Introduction. 

intendence of the prefs, and carefully abftained from 
the infertion of any matter that was not ftri&ly from 
the Tranflatdr's pen. He has adopted this courie 
partly from refpecl to his memory, and partly from a 
conviction, 

Which whifpers in his ear, 'tis better far, 
Never to do, what, if you do, you mar. 



C. HOWES, 



Dulwich College, 
July, 1845. 



THE EPODES. 




THE EPODES 



EPODE I. 



Addreffed to Mace?ias about to fail for the naval 
battle at Attium. 

YOUR light Liburnian bark fhall Ikim the wave 
To dare the floating bulwark's frown, 
Refolved for Caefar's fake each rifk to brave, 

And make his weal or woe your own. 
Meanwhile, for us, Maecenas, what were meet ? 

What mufl a fond retainer do, 
To whom, while lives his patron, life is fweet — 

But owns no charm, bereaved of you ? 
Should he at eafe lag (as you bid) behind — 

Eafe unenjoy'd, while you're afar ? 
Or brook all toils and perils, with a mind 

Firm as befits the brave in war ? 
Yes, yes, he will, and trace with dauntlefs breaft 

Your fteps the Alpine fummits o'er, 
Traverfe the houfelefs Caucafus' wild wafte, 

Or feek the' Atlantic's utmoft more. 
Afk you, what aid this nervelefs arm can lend, 

Which nought of martial ftrength may boaft ? 
'Twill calm, at leaft, my fears for you, my friend ; 

Fears that Hill vex the abfent moll. 



4 The Epodes. 

Thus for her callow brood, when left, the dove 

More dreads the ferpent's ambufh fell — 
Yet knows her wing too weak, tho' ftretch'd above, 

His Healthy inroad to repel. 
Me to encounter this and many a toil 

Pure friendfhip would itfelf incline : 
Not that the groaning ox might ply the foil, 

Yoked to more numerous ploughs of mine — 
Not that my Sabine lawns with ampler range 

Might flretch to Tufculum's fair towers, 
Or flocks for cool Lucanian paftures change 

Calabrian drought, when Sirius lowers. 
Your bounty every want and wifh has crown'd ? 

Tis well : To feek fuperfluous gain — 
But Chremes-like) to hide it underground, 

Or w r aft.e (like royilering heirs) — were vain ! 



EPODE II. 

The Vfurer's praifes of a country life. 

HAPPY the man, who, far from bufy coil, 
(As lived our iimple fires of old) 
With his own team ploughs his paternal foil, 

A ftranger to the cares of gold ! 
Roufed by no clarion to the battle's brunt, 

Scared at no wintry billow's roar, 
He fhuns the Forum's itrife, nor deigns to hunt 

Dull levees at the proud man's door : 
More pleafed around tall poplars to efpoufe 

His new-raifed progeny of vines, 



The Epodes, 



With wary hook he prunes the ftraggling boughs, 

And each more hopeful moot intwines ; 
Or views his lowing herd, as in the lea 

They graze aloof"; or in pure crocks 
Stores from the comb the nedtar of the bee ; 

Or fhears the younglings of his flocks : 
Or, when his golden head boon Autumn rears, 

Crown'd with ripe fruits and flowers, on high, 
With pride he culls his own ingrafted pears, 

Or grapes that with the purple vie — 
Thee with due gifts, Priapus, watchful god ! 

And thee, Silvanus ! to falute. 
Sweet his repofe, now on the tufted fod, 

Now at fome aged beech-tree's root — 
Beneath their banks while rippling ftreamlets creep, 

The groves with warbling plaints refound, 
And murmurs that invite to balmy fleep 

Are heard from guihing rills around ! 
But, when grim winter bids the welkin roar 

With beating hail-ftorms, he befets 
With many a beagle Haunch the briftly boar, 

And drives him on the tapering nets ; 
Or for the hungry thrufh fpreads mefhes rare 

On {lender props along the plain, 
And fpringes to beguile the timorous hare 

(Sweet fpoil !) or migratory crane. 
Amid fuch fports who might not well forget 

Love's fretful jealoufies and jars ? 
But, ihould a buxom babe-environ'd mate 

Help to divide his houfehold cares, 
(Chafte as the Sabine dame, or fun-burnt bride 

Of fome fleet Daunian mountaineer) 
Who piles the evening hearth with logs well-dried, 



6 The Epodes. 

Her confort's wiih'd return to cheer, — 
And, penning in their wattled cotes the flock, 

Drains the diftended udder's hoard, — 
Then, broaching lufcious wine of this year's Hock, 

With unbought dainties heaps the board ; 
Not Lucrine mell-fifti — not rich Turbot more 

Would gratify my tafte, or Char 
(Should tempefts thundering on the Euxine more 

Waft any to our coaft from far) — 
Not choice Pintado, Afric's boafted treat, 

Nor ev'n Ionian Red-game now 
Would tempt my palate more, than olives fweet 

Frefh gathered from the loaded bough ; 
With forrel wild, that loves the watery mead — 

Or, lenient to clogg'd ftomach, mallow — 
Or lamb long vow'd to Terminus — or kid 

Snatch'd from the wolf's rapacious fwallow. 
'Mid fuch repair., to view the well-fed flocks 

Huddling to fold in twilight's gloom, 
How charming, and to fee the flow-paced Ox 

With languid neck come trailing home 
The' inverted plough, — while menials born and bred 

Beneath his roof, in feftive mirth, 
Swarm round the board, with homely plenty fpread, 

Befide the Gods that guard his hearth ! 
Thus Aliius fpake, with ufury's troubles vex'd, 

And vow'd to live a rural fwain ; 
So caird in all his ca(h that month — the next 

Puts every penny out again ! 



I HE EPODES. 



EPODE III. 

Addrejfed to Maecenas during the author' *s ficknefs 
occafioned by garlick eaten at /upper with bim on 
the preceding day. 

SHOULD wretch e'er dare to wring with impious 
An aged father's throat, his meed [noole 

Be this — to fwallow Garlick, than the juice 

Of aconite more noxious weed ! 
Wondrous, that reapers can fuch trafh digefl: ! 

That human ftomachs can be framed 
So tough ! What venom's this that racks my breaft, 

As if with quenchlefs fires inflamed ? 
What ! has the cook infufed into the mefs 

(Unknown to me) fome viperous bane ? 
Or has Canidia, that foul forcerefs, 

Here tried her cunning hand again ? 
When, fmit with Jafon, pride of Argo's crew, 

The amorous queen, by magic lore, 
Bade him the brazen-footed bulls fubdue, 

With this, belike, fhe charm'd him o'er ; — 
With this imbued thofe bridal gifts fo rare, 

By which on her proud rival's head 
She wreak'd her vengeance, and upborne in air 

On dragon- wing triumphant fled ! 
Such vaporous heat, when Sirius fires the globe, 

Ne'er fcorch'd Appulia's thirfty ground ! 
Not toil-worn Hercules the' envenom'd robe 

More big with dire combuftion found ! 



8 The Epodes. 

But, ihould my fportive friend e'er chance to fet 
His heart on food fo rank, I pray — 

May Chloe flight his dalliance in a pet, 
And pufh the proffer'd kifs away ! 



EPODE IV. 

Said to be addreffed to Mena, afreed-man of Pompey, 

DEEP as the' averfion fix'd by fate's decree 
'Twixt wolf and lamb, is mine to thee, 
Whofe furrow'd loins and ancles gall'd retain 

Marks of the penal thong and chain ! 
Strut as thou may'lt, and vaunt thy ill-got pelf — 

Fortune can never alter Self. 
Pacing the Sacred Street with pompous {hide, 

Robed in a mantle fix ells wide, 
See'ft thou not, pictured in the' indignant eye, 

The thoughts of every pafTer-by ? — 
" Yon wretch, who once Triumv'ral whippings bore, 

" Till ev'n the Beadle's arm grew fore, 
" Now ploughs his thoufand acres — fcours each day 

" With prancing Heeds the Appian way — 
" And at the public fhows, in Otho's fpite, 

" Flaunts in front feats a fwaggering knight ! 
" What boots it, launching to difpatch afar 

" So many ftrong-beak'd fhips of war, 
" To put down pirates and a fervile hoft, 

" While he— he fills the Tribune's poll r " 



The Epodes. 9 

EPODE V. 

The for eerie s of Canidia. 

" T UST Powers, that make terreftrial fcenes your care , 
J " And watch mankind from heaven's high throne ! 
" What means this turmoil rude ? why grimly glare 

" Thofe eyes, all fix'd on me alone ? 
" Say, by the babes (if e'er that womb has ftrove 

(f With unabortive child-birth throes) — 
" By this poor pride of purple — by great Jove 

" Who marks and will avenge my woes — 
" Why, when I fue for pity, doft thou low'r 

" That angry fcowl — that threatening glance, 
" Stern as the ftepdame, fierce as the vex'd boar 

" That writhes beneath the hunter's lance ? " 
While thus imploring flood the timid youth, 

Reft of his badges, whofe green age 
And unfledged innocence might hope to foothe 

The barbarous Thracian's hottefl rage, 
Canidia, nothing moved, her unkempt hair 

Enwreath'd with many an adder fell, 
Turn'd, and in thundering accents bade prepare 

To folemnize the rites of hell. 
Slips of wild fig-tree fetch'd from mouldering tombs 

And funeral yew me bade them bring, 
Eggs with the blood of toads befmear'd, and plumes 

Pluck'd from the midnight owlet's wing. 
Thefe, with a thoufand herbs of baneful growth, 

Well known to fage ThefTalian dames, 
And thigh-bones fnatch'd from famifh'd blood-hound's 
mouth, 



io The Epodes. 

She gave to feed the Colchian flames. 
Then up rofe Sagana, and fprinkled round 

Black flreams that mock'd, Avernus ! thine, 
With robe high- cinctured, and with locks unbound, 

That briitled like the porcupine. 
Vein, unaw'd by guilt, with groaning fpade 

Delved a deep pit, where, fix'd upright, 
The youth might fee the varied viands fpread, 

And pine with famine o'er the fight, — 
Chin-deep inearth'd, that, when his gloating eye 

Had flrain'd o'er each forbidden courfe, 
His marrow and parch'd liver might fupply 

A powder of refiitlefs force. 
That Folia too, of Rimini, was there, 

Lewd Naples and its fuburbs tell — 
Folia, of rampant lull, who can unfphere 

The moon and planets by her fpell. 

Catiidia, gnawing to the quick with teeth 

Of livid hue her thumb-nail, fped, 
And bending to the Powers that rule beneath — 

What faid fhe ? or what left unfaid ? 
(C Infernal Hecate ! and thou, filent Night ! 

" Your wonted influence interpofe, 
" Preilde propitious o'er the myftic rite, 

" And hurl your vengeance on my foes ! 
" What time the wild-wood bealts at midnight Hill 

" Tranced in foft {lumber ceafe to roar, 
" My grey gallant with love's warm wifhes fill 

" And to thefe widow'd arms reftore ! 
" There, as he fkulks along Suburra's ftreet, 

" Let yelping watch-dogs bay him round, 
" (The public jell:,) bedaub'd with unguents fweet 



The Epodes. ii 

M As my own hands could e'er compound !— 
" What balks my fkill ? why fail the' ingredients dire, 

" By which Medea on the head 
" Of her falfe lord, the bride, and royal lire 

" At once avenged her injured bed — 
" When, by the robe of deadly tifTue wrought, 

M Wrapt in flrange flames her rival fell ? 
li And yet what herb, what root have I not fought 

i( Thro' craggy fleep or bofky dell ? 
" Lo ! couch'd on beds, with fome oblivious weed 

" Imbued, he woos each harlot's arms ! 
" 'Tis plain — he roams at large, perfidious ! freed 

" By fome adept's more potent charms. 
" But know, new philtres of no vulgar power 

" Shall force thee, Varus ! to return, 
" Taught, perjured wretch ! to rue that parting hour, 

" And with rekindled ardours burn. 
" No fpell by Mariian beldame mutter'd o'er 

" Thy palfied fenfes mail recall : 
" A flronger chalice yet remains in ftore — 

" A flronger, to complete thy fall : 
" And fooner heaven fhall link beneath the fea, 

" While folid earth lies flretch'd above, 
" Than thou not burn once more with love of me, 

if Like fulphur in the blazing ftove." 

On this, the youth not with foft plaint (as erft) 

To foothe their ruthlefs ears efTay'd, 
But paufed awhile, till from his lips forth burfr. 

Such prayers as chafed Thyeftes made : 
i( Spells may the facred rules of right reverfe — 

" Not Heaven's jufr bolt of vengeance flay : 
" Then take, ye hags ! my deep and folemn curfe — 



12 The Epodes 

" A curfe no victim can allay ! 
" Sunk by your arts in death, your beds I'll feek, 

" And haunt you, as a fiend, by night, 
" With harpy talons tear each quivering cheek, 

" (Such power attends an injured fprite !) 
" And perch'd, a goblin, on your heaving hearts, 

" Chafe balmy fleep ; — with mowers of Hones 
" Indignant crowds mail pelt you from all parts, 

" Vile imps of hell and loathfome crones. 
" At laft, your limbs, by wolves and vultures torn, 

" Shall ftrew Efquilia's gloomy plains ; 
" To cheer my parents' eyes, (ah ! left to mourn,) 

" This fpeclacle at leaft remains ! " 



EPODE VI. 

Addrejfed (as fome conjecture) to CaJJius Severus. 

WHY, fnarling cur ! the harmlefs gueil ailail, 
But at the wolf's approach turn tail ? 
Dare hither to direct thy threatenings vain, 

And map at thofe who'll bite again ! 
Fierce as the maftiff or gaunt Spartan hound 

(The fhepherd's trufty guardian found) 
With ears erect thro' drifted mows I chafe 

All that I meet of favage race. 
Thou, when thy howls have bid the woodland quake, 

Art fure to miff the proffer'd cake. 
Beware ! — with pointed horns abroad I go, 

Prepared to gore each mongrel foe. 
Not Parian bard's lampoon with deeper awe 



The Epodes. 13 

Infpired his perjured fire-in-law : 
Not keener taunt fmote Bupulus with dread, 

Avenging the mif-fculptured head. 
What — gall'd by flander's venom'd tooth, mull 

Like a lorn babe, fit flill and cry ? 



EPODE VII. 

Addreffed to the Roman People, to proteft againft the 
renewal of civil war on the part of Antonius ajfifi- 
ed by Cleopatra. 

STAY, madmen ! flay : where rum ye, fleep'd in 
Why quits the fword its fheath again ? [guilt ! 
Has not enough of Latian gore been fpilt, 

Empurpling every field and main ? 
And why ? — That Carthage, levell'd to the ground, 

Rome's rival, might her power obey ? — 
That Britons, whom no fhackles yet had bound, 

Might pace in chains the Sacred Way ? 
No— but (as vowed the Parthian in his rage) 

That Rome by her own hand might bleed. 
For mame ! fuch war nor wolves nor tigers wage, 

Foes but to beafls of alien breed. 
Is it flark frenzy— fate's refifllefs gale — 

Or guilt impels you ? — Speak, reply ! — 
See, Confcience flrikes them dumb — their cheeks turn 

They paufe aghafl, yet know not why ! [pale — 
Ah ! fo it is ! — Our fate-devoted walls 

A fratricidal doom purfues ! 
While guiltlefs Remus' blood for vengeance calls, 

Rome's latefl race his murder rues ! 



14 The Epodes, 



EPODEVIII. {omitted.) 



EPODE IX. 

Addreffed to Maecenas on the fir ft arrival of the news 
of the viftory at Attium. 

WHEN fhall I, feated at the fumptuous board, 
The flafk for feftive mirth long ftored 
With you, Maecenas ! drain, rejoiced to learn 

(So Jove hath will'd) the fafe return 
Of conquering Caefar, while fhrill pipes confpire 

Attemper'd to the warbling lyre ? 
As late, when he, mock-ruler of the waves, 

Who chains* knock'd off from rebel Haves, 
Would fain upon our free-born necks have bound, 

Saw his fleet burnt — his followers drown'd. 
Lo ! Roman troops (alas ! a future age 

Will fcarcely credit hiftory's page) 
Have march'd and countermarch'd at woman's call, 

Nay — -brook'd fome fhrivell'd Eunuch's thrall, 
And 'mid war's banner'd pomp the fun has feen 

(Oh fhame !) the netted palanquin ! 
At this, two-thoufand Gallic horfe turn heel, 

Change fides, and fhout for Caefar's weal, — 
While half their navy, panic {truck, tack fhort 

To larboard, or lie hid in port ! 
All hail to Caefar's triumph ! what delays, 

In celebration of his praife, 



The Epodes. 15 

The heifer yet unyoked — the gilded car — 

The milk-white Heeds — and pomp of war ? 
Not, from Jugurtha's overthrow return'd, 

Has chief more glorious laurels earn'd ; — 
Not he, furnamed from Africa, to whom 

Valour o'er Carthage rear'd a tomb. 
Vanquifh'd by fea and land, the baffled foe 

Doffs the red fcarf for weeds of woe ; 
While, borne by breezes not its own, his fleet 

Sneaks off to hundred-citied Crete, 
Or foundering on vex'd quickfands toils in vain, 

Or drifts at random o'er the main. 
Fill to the brim, boys ! fpeed the goblet round, 

With Chian or with Lefbian crown'd ; 
Or mete the mellower Caecuban, whofe balm 

May check betimes the rifmg qualm ! 
All fear and care on Caefar's fcore, to day 

Let fparkling cups chafe far away ! 



EPODE X. 

Imprecating tempefts and ' Jhip wreck to Mavius, about 
to fet fail for Greece; perhaps as a parody on Ode 1, 3. 

WITH omens ill the fhip her anchor weighs, 
Which {linking Maevius hence conveys. 
Wake, Southern blafl ! and with the fwelling tide 

Lafh fore-and-aft her trembling fide ! 
Rife, Eurus ! and with rattling peals of thunder 

Break down her mail — her cordage funder I 





16 The Epodes. 

Her beams let Boreas fhiver, with a ftroke 

Rude as uproots the mountain oak ! 
And let Orion, as he links below, 

Dark horror o'er the waters throw, 
That not a ftar may lend its twinkling light, 

To cheer the gloomy brow of night ! 
Nor let him quit in calmer feas the flrand, 

Than did the conquering Grecian band, 
When Pallas turn'd from Ilium wrapt in fire 

On Ajax' impious bark her ire ! 
Gods ! what alarm awaits the fweltering crew, 

And oh ! what afhy palenefs you, 
With many a womanly lament and tear, 

And prayers to Jove averfe to hear — 
When murky clouds the' Ionian gulf deform, 

The furge rebellowing to the florin, 
And o'er the founder'd keel the big wave roars, 

Her timbers crack'd — difperfed her oars ! 
But, mould your carcafe on the beach at laft 

(Rich prey for cormorants) be carl, 
A goat (fit victim) to the Tempefts flam 

Shall, with a lamb, Jove's altar ftain. 



EPODE XI. 

To his friend Pettius, lamenting his own ill-luck and 
Jicklenefs in his amours. 

RACK'D with the pangs of love, I lift no more 
To pen light fonnets, Pettius ! as before 
Love, that for fome new charmer flill in turn 
Above all hearts feems deftined mine to burn. 



The Epodes. 17 

Thrice has December itrew'd the woodland plain 
With wither'd leaves, fince, in defpair to gain 
The proud Inachia, I retired forlorn, 
Made the town's talk — the butt of public fcorn. 
Alas ! how I regret my follies paft ! — 
How blufh for thofe fad banquets, where at kit, 
Defpite of every effort to appear 
Gay like the reit, too oft the trickling tear, 
The figh that from my inmoit bofom itole, 
And iilent languor fpake the melting foul ! 
But, when ingenuous Bacchus, wont to wreft 
With warmer cups each fecret from the breaft, 
Unlock'd the heart and loofed the tongue's reitraint, 
I whifper'd in your ear this piteous plaint : — 
cc Shame, that poor honeit fuitors, like myfelf, 
" Muft tamely bow before the pride of pelf! 
" But — mould the moody fpleen, with which I pine, 
" Wax into wrath, and to the winds coniign 
" Grief's chill emollients, by whofe aid the fore 
** (Nothing affuaged) feems but to feiter more — 
*' Awaken'd pride fhall all this bofom fire, 
" And from the ill-match'd itrife with fcorn retire." 
Words of fuch item refolve you heard me fay, 
And urged the plan ; I homewards took my way. 
But ah ! too foon this heart forgot its pride ; 
And, as Love's witchcraft lured my foot afide, 
With truant ftep — fcarce confcious where I went — 
To that unfriendly door my courfe was bent, 
Where on the threfhold and hard flints I fpread 
My aching loins and pillow'd my iick head. 
Now Chloe holds me captive in love's chain ; 
From whofe foft fpell not even the difdain 
Of her, who tortures me with cold caprice, 

c 



i8 The Epodes. 

Nor friends' kind counfel can my foul releafe — 
Nought but a new amour with fome new fair, 
Who braids in rofy wreaths her flowing hair. 

EPODE XII. {omitted.) 

EPODE XIII. 

WITH gathering tempefts, fee, the welkin lowers, 
And Jove in rattling hail and murky mowers 
Defcends — all Nature feems to ftand agnail — < 
And feas and woods howl to the Thracian blafl ! 
Snatch we, my friend ! occafion from the day — 
Ere age has blanch'd the cheek and joys decay, 
Draw forth the flafk whofe date records my birth, 
And fmooth the wrinkled brow in timely mirth ! 
The reft — ah mention not! — Who knows but peace 
May yet return, and Heaven bid difcord ceafe ? 
A truce with moping grief and bodings dire ! 
Lull'd rather by the foftly-warbling lyre, 
And dripping with the fragrant Perfian nard, 
Laugh, quaff and revel ! — To his peerlefs ward, 
Such were the lefTons by fage Chiron fung : — 
" All-conquering mortal, from immortal fprung ! 
fC Thee Troy awaits, my fon ! with martial blood 
" Diftain'd — a land by cool Scamander's flood 
" And winding Simois wafh'd — from whofe fad bourn 
" The fure-fpun thread of Fate precludes return, 
" Nor e'er mail azure Thetis o'er the main 
" Waft her victorious fon to Greece again. 
" No more — Let wine and fong each forrow there 
" AfTuage, fweet lenitives of gloomy care ! " 



The Epodes. 19 



EPODE XIV. 

YOU afk — " What means this torpid indolence 
" That in oblivion every fenfe 
u Has fteep'd, as if my thirfty lips had quaff'd 

" At Lethe's fpring a copious draught ?" — 
And kill me by remonftrance without end : 

A God — a God denies, my friend ! 
All power the promifed ftanzas to compofe, 

And bring my fragment to a clofe ; 
Love, mighty Love the vein of fong has marr'd ! 

So glow'd of old the Teian bard — 
So in wild meafures to the plaintive fhell 

Mourn'd the coy jilt he loved fo well. 
Yourfelf, no ftranger to the pleafing pain, 

Are caught, like me, in Cupid's chain. 
But, if a fairer flame beleaguer'd not 

Troy's towers, commend your happy lot ! 
My thoughts on humble Phryne now are bent, 

A freed-girl — nor with one content. 



EPODE XV. 

To his perjured miftrefs, Near a. 

v II ^WAS night, and 'mid her Harry train was {ecn 
JL The moon's pale orb in heaven's ferene, 

When, with fond arms (as ivy twines the oak; 
Clafping my neck, thou didft invoke 



20 The Epodes. 

The gods to feal our plighted faith; — nay more, 

Thy tongue (their power infulting) fwore, 
That, long as prowling wolves infefl the fheep, 

Or north-winds vex the wintry deep, 
Or Phoebus waves his trelTes to the gale, 

This love between us mould not fail. 
Beware, falfe girl ! the day may yet enfue, 

When thou my ftubborn pride fhalt rue : 
For, if one fpark of manhood Hill remains 

To fire thy flighted Flaccus' veins, 
He will not brook for ever, that thofe charms 

Should blefs a favor'd rival's arms — 
But feek fome other miflrefs, who may prove 

More prone to render love for love ; 
Nor mail this bofom, with juft vengeance fteePd, 

To beauty's fpell (once broken) yield. 
And thou, proud youth ! ufurper of my place, 

Triumphant now in my difgrace, 
Whoe'er thou be — tho' rich in herds and lands, 

Lord of Padlolus' golden fands, 
Well-ikilPd to found the depths of Samian lore, 

Nor Nireus boaft his beauty more — 
Yet — wait awhile — the jilt thy fuit mall fpurn, 

And I deride thy plaints in turn ! 



The Epodes. 21 



EPODE XVI. 

Addrefied to the Roman People, deprecating the continuance 
of civil war, with its ruinous confequences ; to avoid which, 
the poet playfully (as if haranguing the affembled populace) 
recommends, that all, or at leaft. the fpirited few, mould aban- 
don their country as one devoted to deftruCtion, and feek the 
Happy IJIes, fabled frill to retain the purity and felicity of the 
golden age. 

ALREADY lengthen'd to another age, 
Foul Difcord reigns and civil rage ; 
And Rome, with whom no foreign power competes, 

From her own hand her death-blow meets ! 
She, who the neighbouring Marfi an could withftand — 

Foil'd proud Porfenna's Tufcan band — 
Fierce Spartacus and rival Capua quell'd, 

With Gaul that oft in vain rebell'd — 
Whom not Germania's blue-eyed fons coerced, 

Nor Carthage by fond matrons curft — 
Mull fall by us, a loll polluted race, 

And wild-beafts re-ufurp her place. 
Oh fhame ! a barbarous victor, flum'd with pride, 

Shall o'er her fmoking ruins flride — 
Her founder's bones, long pent in hallow'd urn, 

Uptorn, infulting foes fhall fpurn — 
And o'er yon bulwarks, levell'd to the ground, 

The trooper's clattering hoof refound ! 
Here all, perhaps, — at leaft the generous few — 

May afk, What courfe we muft purfue, — 
What means adopt, fuch dire diftrefs to fhun ? 

My voice is this — I know but one — 
To aft as the Phocaeans did of yore, 

And (as they left their native more, 



22 The Epodes. 

Refigning all they loved — their fields, their homes, 

Paternal hearths and facred domes — 
To be the wild boar's and gaunt wolPs fojourn, 

Pledged homewards never to return) 
To quit our Latium, and at random go 

Where tides may drift or breezes blow. 
Is this your will ? — Should any difapprove, 

Some fitter counfel let them move ! 
Elfe — with propitious omens why delay 

To launch the bark and fpeed away ? 
But firft fwear duly — that, till ocean fhow 

The millflone buoyant from below, 
Return is barr'd — that then (and not till then) 

The winds mail waft us back again, 
When mounting from his oozy bed the Po 

Shall o'er Matinus' fummit flow — 
Or Apennine his cloud-enveloped fteep 

Bow down and plunge beneath the deep — ■ 
When brutes fhall couple in unnatural love, 

Tiger with deer, and kite with dove — 
Lambs unappall'd the lion's ravin brave, 

And goats with dolphins ikim the wave ! 
This oath (with aught that elfe may loofe the band 

That links us to our parent land) 
Swear all, and then depart, — if not the whole, 

Yet thofe that own a nobler foul ! 
At home let drooping hearts and drowfy heads 

Still prefs their fate-devoted beds ! 
But you, ye brave ! unmanly wails give o'er, 

And fly beyond the Tufcan fhore. 
To diftant plains of ambient ocean bound, 

That lave the central earth around ! 
There let us feek the Ifles — the Happy Ifles, 



The Epodes. 23 

Sweet bowers of blifs, where Nature fmiles — 
Where annual harvefls crown uncultured fields — 

The vine unpruned her duller yields — 
The olive fprouts with never-failing gem — 

The ripe fig loads its native Item — 
Each oak drops honey — down the mountain's fide 

Soft rills with tinkling murmurs glide — 
The ewes at night-fall hafte uncall'd, nor fail 

To bring full udders to the pail — 
No growling bear fkulks round the evening fold, 

Nor viper's neft upheaves the mould ! 
Nay — (more to move our rapture) — there no rains 

With fweeping deluge lafh the plains, 
Nor fultry droughts forbid the grain to teem — 

Kind Heaven tempering each extreme ! 
Here venturous Argo touch'd not — hither came 

With unblefl drugs no Colchian dame — 
Nor Tyrians, nor Ulyfles' toil-worn band 

E'er anchor'd on this quiet flrand — 
No murrain taints the herd — no noxious pell 

Or dogflar's maddening heats moleft ; 
Jove for the juft referved thefe feats of old, 

When he alloy'd Time's prifline gold 
With brafs. That ore, by viler fince difplaced, 

Is now to cankerous drofs debafed — 
An age of woe ; whence (if their bard be right) 

The good may wing an eafy flight. 



24 The Epodes. 

EPODE XVII. 

Horace's ironical Recantation, and Canidia's Anfwer. 

Horace. 

YES, yes — at length with reverence due 
I bow to magic's might, and fue 
By the dark fhades of death, where dwell 
The grifly potentates of hell — 
By Proferpine's fublime belief! — 
By Necromancy's arts unbleft, 
Which can unfphere the moon on high 
And pluck down planets from the iky — 
A truce, Canidia ! with thofe charms 
And fpells, that fill me with alarms ! 
In mercy fpare my foul to rack, 
And let the myrtle Reel run back ! 
The prayers of Telephus (we're told) 
Moved Thetis' doughty fon of old, 
Tho' he had led his Myfian bands 
Againft him, and with daring hands 
Hurl'd the keen lance. — Slain Hector lay, 
To dogs and vultures doom'd a prey, 
Till Priam from the fame ftern chief 
Sought in the foe's mid camp relief, 
Low at his feet a fuppliant call ; 
Which caufed the Trojan dames at laft 
To' anoint their champion for the bier, 
And bathe his relics with a tear. 
UlyfTes' comrades laid afide 
Their beflial fhape and briilly hide, 
When Circe, won by prayer, to each 



The Epodes. 25 

Reftored the powers of fenfe and fpeech, 

And crown'd with prifline grace their brows. 

Enough (and more) of penal woes 

Thy wrath has bid me pay, O thou — 

The trader's trull and factor's frow ! 

My health is flown : youth's rofeate bloom 

Is faded, leaving in its room 

Thefe haggard cheek-bones, wan and thin, 

Scarce cover'd with a lurid fkin : 

My locks, that curl'd in jetty pride, 

To ftraggling grey thine oils have dyed : 

Day chafes night — night day — nor fees 

One moment's refpite from difeafe : 

Strange vaporous crudities diftend 

My cheft — my anguifh knows no end. 

Perforce, then, I retract, and now 

(What once I dared to doubt) allow — 

That Sabine forceries can moleft 

By mutter'd fpells a mortal breaft, 

And that the Marfian beldame's art 

Can rive the brain and rack the heart. 

What wouldft thou more ? O earth ! O fea ! 

I burn — I blaze — flames compafs me, 

Fierce as did Hercules of yore, 

Smear'd with the Centaur's venom'd gore — 

Intenfe as with a boiling tide 

Of fulphur ftream down ^Etna's fide. 

Yet thou, till crumbled into duft 

I'm fcatter'd by the pairing guft, 

In glowing lab'ratory pent 

Still ply 'ft thy horrible intent. 

When may I look for my difcharge ? 

When roam the world again at large ? 

And what muft be the ranfom ? fay — 



26 The Epodes. 

The fine impofed I'll vouch to pay : 

Yea — tho', to expiate my guilt, 

A hundred heifers' blood be fpilt : 

Or doft thou hymns of praife require ? — 

Thou, pureft — (quoth the flattering lyre) 

Mo ft virtuous of thy f ex by far, 

Shalt walk the fkies a radiant liar ! 

Caflor and Pollux, twin-born fons 

Of Leda, by Stefichorus once 

Sorely aggrieved, whofe ilanderous fong 

Had done their fillers mickle wrong, 

Smote him with blindnefs ; but, implored, 

To the recanting bard reflored 

The fight themfelves had torn away 

In vengeance for his harfher lay. 

Thou too (for well thou canfl) thefe fits 

Of frenzy, that diilracl my wits, 

Withhold ! O thou, not bred (I trow) 

In flews — not born of parents low — 

Not wont to ranfack graves, and fpurn 

The poor man's newly-buried urn, 

In aid of thy myflerious art ! — 

Pure are thy hands, and boon thy heart ! 

Thy brood is genuine — none have room 

To doubt the product of thy womb : 

No kidnapper of infants thou— 

But, as the midwives all allow, 

Oft as Lucina tends thy cries, 

She bids thee brifk from childbed rife 1 

Canidia. 

Why wafle petitions on clofed ears ? 
Not rocks to fhipwreck'd mariners 



The Epodes. 2 

More deaf when winter's angry tides 
With foaming billows lafh their fides ! 
Shalt thou prefume with taunts profane 
Cotytto's orgies to arraign ? 
Shalt thou to public fcorn uphold 
The rites where luft reigns uncontroul'd, — 
Then, as high-prieit., infpedt at will 
The myfteries of the' Efquilian hill, 
And hawk (unpunifh'd) up and down 
Canidia's name through all the town ? 
What boots it that I oft with gold 
Have lured Pelignian crones to' unfold 
The fecrets of their conjuring tricks, 
And learnt the deadly dofe to mix 
Of quick eiFe6l, if thee a fate, 
More tardy than my vows, await ? 
Well — live thou fhalt — but live, to know 
A loathfome lingering life of woe. 
Eafe is the prayer — the fond defire — 
Of Tantalus, falfe Pelops' fire, 
With hunger amid banquets curft, 
Amid frefh water-fprings with thirft : 
Fail to the gnawing vulture bound, 
Prometheus bids all hell refound 
With prayers for eafe : with many a groan 
Prays Sifyphus to' upheave the ilone 
To the hill's top : — In vain — for why? 
Jove's fovereign laws the boon deny. 
So thou fhalt wifh, perhaps, one hour, 
To fling thyfelf from fome tall tower — 
The next, with deep defpair opprefT'd, 
To plunge the poniard in thy breaft — 
Or fain life's irkfome bands to loofe, 



28 I HE EPODES. 

Weave for thy neck the' unhallow'd noofe. 
But no — Thy foe with goblin pride 
Thofe hated fhoulders fhall beftride, 
In triumph perch'd, as if fhe hurl'd 
Defiance o'er a proftrate world ! 
Shall I, who planets by my fpell 
Unfphere — and (as thou know'ft too well) 
Make waxen dolls to perfonate 
And rack by proxy whom I hate — 
Dead afhes with new life infpire — 
And drug the cup of warm defire, 
Thofe arts, which ne'er have fail'd, now fee 
Baffled by fuch a worm as thee ? 



THE SECULAR ODE 











m 



THE SECULAR ODE. 

Compofed at the requeft of the Emperor Auguftus for the fifth 
regular celebration of the Ludi Saculares in the year of the City 
737- 



PHCEBUS, and thou, Diana, fylvan Power ! 
Bleft pair — revered, and Hill to be revered — 
Bright gems of ether ! grant the fuit preferr'd 

At this fix'd hour 

Of hallow'd joy, when (as the Sibyl's lays 
Ordain'd) chafte Youths and Virgins to the Powers 
That guard the city and her feven-hilPd towers 

Pour fongs of praife ! 

Thou genial Sun ! whofe orb in heaven's high dome 
Reveals and fhrouds the day — Hill rifing new 
And frill the fame — may nothing meet thy view, 

Greater than Rome ! 

And thou, Lucina ! lenient to difclofe 

The ripen'd birth — whatever name bell pleafe 

Thine ear — Natalis ! Ilithyia ! — eafe 

Our matron's throes I 

Grant large increafe, and fpeed the Senate's caufe, 
Who ftrengthens (fludious of their country's good) 
Pure wedlock's bands, and to recruit her brood 

Stamp nuptial laws : 



32 The Secular Ode. 

That oft as years, to decades full eleven 
Revolving, (hall renew with folemn rite 
This Jubilee, glad anthems day and night 

May rife to heaven. 

And you, whofe verdict, once declared, Hands fail, 

Link'd in Neceffity's eternal chain, 

Ye DefUnies ! with future blemngs deign 

To crown the pall ! 

May Earth, boon parent, rich in flocks and fruit, 
Grace Ceres with a wreath of golden ears, 
While the foft fhower and gale falubrious rears 

Each budding moot ! 

Placid and mild, thy fhafts of vengeance fheath'd, 
Hear thou the Youths, majeftic Lord of light ! 
Hear thou the prayer, bicorned Queen of night, 

By Virgins breath'd ! 

Bleft twain ! if Rome from you derived her birth ; — 
If hither, led by you, the Trojan bands 
Urged a fafe courfe, what time for diftant lands 

They changed their hearth ; 

To whom, unfcathed, thro' Ilium wrapt in flame, 
The brave furvivor of the land he loft 
Oped a free path, to found on Latium's coaft 

A nobler name ; 

Grant to our docile youth each virtuous grace ! 
To weary veterans grant ferene repofe ! 
Grant health, wealth, iflue, all that Heaven beftows 

To Rome's whole race ! 



The Secular Ode. 33 

And may the Prince, who at your fhrine bids flow 
The milk-white heifer's blood, Anchifes' heir, 
Long rule, to crufh the rebel and to fpare 

The proftrate foe ! 

The Mede, now quell'd by land as on the wave, 
Has to our arms and Alban Axes bow'd ; 
The Scythian hordes, and Indian (late fo proud) 

Our mercy crave. 

Truth, Honour, generous Shame (repell'd with fcorn,) 
Mild Peace, and Virtue that to heaven had flown, 
Dare to return, and Plenty hafles to crown 

Her brimming Horn. 

Befure, the golden-quiver'd God, who fees 
Fate's awful myfteries, whom the warbling Nine 
Hail as their leader, and whofe arts benign 

AiTuage difeafe, 

Will, if he fmile on his own facred towers, 
Prolong the Roman weal and Latium's blifs 
From age to age, and Hill improve from this 

To happier hours : 

Nor lefs will She, fo long on Aventine 
And Algidus enfhrined, her votaries now 
Propitious heed, and to our youthful vow 

Kind ears incline. 

We, then, the band who jointly tune their praife, 
Bear home a fure and cheering hope, that Jove 
Lifts and approves, with all the Hoft above, 

Thefe choral lays. 



THE SATIRES. 




THE SATIRES 



BOOK I, 



SATIRE I. 



TT THENCE comes it, dear Maecenas, that we 

Each to applaud his neighbour's lot inclined- 
Each to repine at that which chance has thrown 
Into his lap, or choice ordain'd his own ? 
B left is the merchant's fate > the foldier cries, 
As bow'd with years the toilfome march he plies : 
Again, the merchant toft by florins at fea 
Exclaims, — The foldier' 's is the life for me s 
For why — the trumpet fummons to the fray, 
And death or glory quickly crowns the day. 
The lawyer, when ere cock-crow at his gate 
Loud clients knock, applauds the peafant's fate : 
Dragg'd from the country by a writ, the clown 
Swears none are bleft but thofe that dwell in town, 
So many like examples wait our call, 
Scarce prating Fabius could recount them all. 
But (not to tire myfelf and you) 'twere beft 
At once to bring the matter to the teft. 
Suppofe fome god mould cry, " Lo, it mall be 



38 The Satires. b. i. 

" Ev'n as ye lift : you, foldier, off to fea ! 
" You, lawyer, go and plough ! advance, retire, 
" Change fides, and be at laft what ye defire ! " 
Why all draw back ! — Was ever whim like this ? — 
Retract their wifhes, and renounce their blifs ! 
What hinders but that Jove, with burly fcowl 
(As limners paint him) and inflated jowl, 
In vengeance fwear, that never will he deign 
A patient hearing to fuch fuits again ? 

But, not to treat my fubjecl: as in jell — 
(Albeit why may not truth in fmiles be dreft, 
As gentle teachers lure the child to come 
And learn his horn-book, with a fugar plum ?) — 
Joking apart — he that with reftlefs toil 
Urges his ploughfhare through the ftubborn foil, 
This tapfter-like retailer of the laws, 
This veteran champion of his country's caufe, 
And this ftout feaman who in queft of gain 
Unfurls his fail and braves the boifterous main, 
All with one view profefs to labour on — 
That, when at laft the fpring of life is gone 
And ftrength declines, of ample ftores poileft 
They may retire to competence and reft. 
' * So the fmall ant " (the precedent they plead), 
" Patient of toil and provident of need, 
" Drags in her mouth whatever ipoil fhe meets, 
" And adds it to her ftock of hoarded fweets." 

Yet that fame ant, when wintry clouds appear, 
And grim December's blafts deform the year, 
Creeps not from home ; but temperately wife 
Unlocks her hoard and feeds on her fupplies : 
While you nor fummer's heat nor winter's cold 
Can tear afunder from the fearch of gold ; 



s. i. The Satires. 39 

Fire, water, fteel mull yield to fordid pelf, 
'Till not a wretch is wealthier than yourfelf. 
Say, what avails it thus to drudge and fweat 
For all the gold and filver you can get, — 
And, when the filver and the gold are found, 
To delve a pit and hide them underground ? 

The heap, once touched, foon dwindles to an end. 
But wherefore was it heap'd, unlefs to fpend ? 
Tenthoufand coombs are threfh'd upon your floor ; — 
What follows ? not that you can eat the more. 
Thus, were it yours to bear upon your head 
Amid a train of flaves the fack of bread, 
Not one loaf more would to your portion fall 
Than to the reft who carried none at all. 
Whoe'er to nature's wants conforms his will, 
Say, what imports it whether that man till 
Ten — or ten thoufand — rood? A pleafure lies 
In drawing what one wants from large f applies. 
This we can draw, too, from our humbler ftore ; 
And what can all your granaries do more ? 
As if you mould of water clear and fweet 
Need but a pitcher- full (while at your feet 
Bubbled a fpring) and fay, " My cup I'll fill 
■* From yon deep river, not from this poor rill." 
So fhall the flippery bank your foot betray, 
And you by Aufidus be fwept away ; 
While he, who wifely ftudies to confine 
His wifhes there, where nature draws the line, 
QuafFs pure his beverage from the fountain's iide, 
Nor tempts the perils of the boifterous tide. 

Yet thoufands, duped by avarice in difguife, 
Intrench themfelves in maxims fage and wife. 
Go on, fay they, and hoard up all you can / 



40 The Satires. b. i. 

For wealth is worth, and money makes, the man ! 
What fhall we fay to fuch ? Since 'tis their will - 
Still to be wretched, let them be fo Hill ! — 
Self-curfl as that fame mifer mull have been, 
Who lived at Athens, rich as he was mean,- — 
Who, when the people hiff'd, would turn about 
And drily thus accoft the rabble-rout : 
e ' Hifs on ; I heed you not, ye faucy wags, 
tf While felf-applaufes greet me o'er my bags." 

Poor Tantalus attempts in vain to lip 
The flattering ftream that mocks his thirfty lip. 
You fmile, as if the ftory were not true ! 
Change but the name, and it applies to you. 
O'er countlefs heaps in niceft order ftored 
You pore agape, and gaze upon the hoard, , 
As relicks to be laid with reverence by, 
Or pictures only meant to pleafe the eye. 

With all your cam, you feem not yet to know 
Its proper ufe, or what it can bellow ! 
" 'Twill buy me herbs, a loaf, a pint of wine, — > 
" All, which denied her, Nature would repine." 
But what are your indulgencies I All day, 
All night, to watch and lhudder with difmay, 
Left ruffians fire your houfe, or flaves by Health 
Rifle your coffers, and abflra6l your wealth ? 
If this be affluence— this her boafted fruit, 
Of all fuch joys may I live deftitute ! 

" Yet if a cold " (you urge) " or aching head 
" Or other ill confine you to your bed, 
" With wealth you'll never want fome faithful friend 
" Or civil neighbour, zealous to attend, 
" Sit by you, mix your cordials, and requeft 
" The doftor to beware and do his beft, — 



s. 1/ The Satires. 41 

"Your precious health, if pofftble, reftore, 

" And give you to your weeping friends once more." 

Vain thought ! for you nor daughter, fon, nor wife 
Puts up the prayer, or cares about your life. 
Relations and acquaintance, great and fmall, 
Female and male, defpife— deteft you all. 
Nor wonder if, while gold is all your care, 
That love, you feel not, neither mull you fhare. 
But if you think to win, by wealth alone, 
The love of them whom nature made your own, 
Tis labour loft, — as if one ftrove to train 
The afs to prance and curvet to the rein. 

Pufh not your wifhes then to this excefs ; 
But, as you have the more, fear want the lefs. 
You are what once you wifh'd : — then wifely ceafe 
All further trouble, and repofe in peace : 
Left the fame doom be yours, which, as we're told, 
Befel a rich curmudgeon once of old, 
Poffeft (my tale is ihort) of fo much treafure 
That he could count it only by the meafure ; 
And yet withal fo eager ftill to fave, 
He dreft, he fared, fcarce better than a ilave, — 
Nay, to his death was haunted with the dread 
Of want and beggary hanging o'er his head. 
At laft a wench of true Tyndarid vein 
Took up an axe and clave the churl in twain. 

But muft I wafte, like Navius, my eft ate ? 
Like Nomentanus, live a profligate ? — 
Why deal in fuch extremes ? what need to place 
Thefe oppofite excefles face to face ? 
I blame the niggard ; but it follows not 
That I commend the rake-hell and the fot. 
Much as they differ, Tanais I admire 



42 The Satires. b. i* 

As little as I do Vifellius' fire. 
Some bound there ever is, fome rule of right, 
Which parts each error from its oppofite : 
Folly and vice on either fide are feen, 
While juftice, truth, and virtue lie between. 

Thus — (to revert to what was faid at flrft) — 
All view their own condition as the worfl ; 
And, meanly envious of another's lot, 
Scorn what they have and praife what they have not. 
If but fome luckier neighbour's ewes or kine 
Yield more than theirs, they murmur and repine : 
And, while infatiate avarice bids them pant 
Firft one and then another to fupplant, 
However rich, fome richer flill they find, 
Toil after them y nor heed the poor behind. 
So in the race, when flatting from the bar 
The furious courfers urge the rapid car, 
To pafs the next on fpeeds the charioteer, 
Difdaining him that lingers in the rear. 
Hence few are found, who dying can declare 
That theirs was comfort unalloy'd with care ; 
Or, riling from life's banquet, quit their feat, 
Like cheerful gueils, contented with the treat. 

But hold ! — You'll think I've pillaged the fcrutoir 
Of blear Crifpinus : — Not one word then more ! 



N 



SATIRE II. 

YMPHS of the Syrian pipe in mining rows, 
Quacks, flrolling-players, buffoons, and Ba- 
latros, 



s. ii. The Satires. 43 

With grief for loft Tigellius droop and pine ; 
For oh ! his hand was free, his heart benign ! 
Another (mark the contrail !) fhall withhold 
A mite to fave from penury and cold 
His ftarving friend, alarm'd forfooth left all 
Should fet him down a thriftlefs prodigal. 

Afk the gay {tripling, why at fuch a rate 
He racks his patrimonial eftate, 
Borrowing huge fums to pile his table high 
With coftly junkets : and he'll tell you why : — 
Becaufe he deprecates the gracelefs name 
Of niggard. Some applaud him ; fome cry fhame. 

Fufidius, no lefs fearful to be thought 
A loon, a rake-hell, and a thing of nought, 
Tho' rich in lands, tho' rich in thoufands lent 
To brifk young heirs at one month's five-per-cent, 
Prompt with encumbering fuccours to aflift, 
Seeks up and down, and enters on his lift 
Lads of true mettle, who (the manly gown 
Aflumed) yet pine beneath a guardian's frown. 
Great Jove! you cry; But Jure ly for bis pains 
He fpends his treafure freely as he gains. 
Not fo ; you know not how this child of pelf 
Starves amid affluence and defrauds himfelf. 
The felf- tormenting father in the play 
Who drove by Hern rebukes his fon away — 
Take him as Terence paints him — fcarce could be 
More rigorous in his penances than he. 

But what of thefe examples ? — Why it feems, 
Fools, fhunning errors, rum into extremes. 
Malthinus ftruts with flowing tunic graced : 
Another quaintly tucks it to his waift. 
Rufillus breathes of all the fcent fhops fell : 



44 The Satires. b. i, 

Gorgonius glories in a goat-like fmell. 

No medium is obferved. There are who chufe 

None but the matron ; others haunt the Hews. 

(The reft of this Satire is omitted.) 



SATIRE III. 

ALL fingers have this fault — that if you try 
To make them fing, they never will comply : 
But leave them to themfelves, and unrequired 
They'll ling 'till all the company are tired. 
Tigellius had, we know, this whim fo ftrong 
That Caefar's felf who might enforce a fong, 
Though he conjured him in a friendly tone 
By all his father's favours and his own, 
Could not prevail. But, if the fit took place, 
Now in fhrill treble — now in thundering bafs 
'Twas Bacchus, hail! when firfl the banquet came, 
And down to the laft courfe 'twas ftill the fame. 
Such was the man : Impell'd by vain caprice 
His life had nothing in it of a piece. 
One day you faw him hurrying to and fro, 
As if he fled from fome purfuing foe : 
Anon, as if great Juno's pomp to grace, 
Marching along with flow and folemn pace. 
Sometimes he kept two hundred flaves ; — and then, 
Wait but a day or two, he had but ten. 
Now in big phrafe he'd talk of mighty things, 
Of foreign courts, of Tetrarchs and of Kings : 
And now 'twas — " Grant me, Heaven ! ('tis all I wifh) 
" A three-legg'd table and an earthen dilh ; 



s. in. The Satires. 45 

" A cleanly fcollop-fhell my fait fhall hold ; 
" A coat, however coarfe, may fence the cold." 
Yet, had you given amid his frugal plan 
Five thoufand pounds to this abflemious man, 
Thus void of pride, thus eafljy content, 
Within five days 'twas every penny fpent. 
While others were awake, he fnoring lay, 
Then fat up all the night 'till break of day ;— 
Ever at variance with himfelf. — But here 
Methinks fome reader whifpers in my ear : 
Have you no faults yourfelf? I anfwer, Yes ; 
Faults of a different hue, and haply lefs. 

When Maenius dared a brother-knave attack 
And jeer'd at Novius once behind his back, 
" Art thou," cries one, " blind to thyfelf alone, 
" Or would'fl thou vapour as to us unknown ? 
" Look o'er thine own pall follies." — " So I do," 
Retorts the wag, " and overlook them too." 
This partial felf-indulgence, void offhame 
As well as fenfe, deferves the ftrongeft blame. 
At your own failings while you leer afkance 
With half-clofed eye, why dart this eagle glance 
At others' faults ? fince others, it is plain, 
Will call as fharp a gaze at yours again. 
What tho' your friend be hafly now and then, — 
Too rough for the nice tafle of modern men ? 
What tho' his beard oft afk the barber's fkill, 
His coat look fhabby, or his fhoes fit ill ? 
Yet, you might add, he is a man of parts, 
His bofom holds the very belt of hearts ; 
And in this rude exterior lurks enfhrined 
A generous temper and gigantic mind. 
Sift then your foul ; explore each fecret fin 



46 The Satires. b. i, 

By nature or worfe habit Town within : 
For oft thro* long neglect the noxious weed 
Towers o'er the crop and chokes the riling feed. 

Mark how affection blinds the lover's eyes ! 
He in his miftrefs not a fault efpies : 
In her each blemifh feems to him a grace, 
And none but beauty-fpots adorn her face. 
Balbinus, blind with love, enamour'd grows 
Ev'n of the polypus in Agna's nofe. 
In friendfhip would our weaknefs were the fame, 
And dignified with Candour's nobler name ! 

As parents in their offspring, fo mould we 
Seek to extenuate ev'n the fault we fee. 
Is the child fcmint-eyed ? — Ob the pretty dear ! 
The father lifps, it has a roguijb leer. 
Is it a dwarfilh cub, fcarce two feet high, 
Like Sifyphus ? — Sweet poppet ! is the cry. 
Varus 'tis call'd, if bandy-legg'd and lame : 
For why — great Varus thence derived his name : 
Or is the darling ricketty ? — If kilFd 
And hail'd a Scaurus, who obferves the twill ? 

Thus, if your friend purfue the faving plan, 
Commend him for a prudent thrifty man. 
Is he a pert officious coxcomb ? — Say, 
The fellow has a lively pleafant way. 
If blunt, 'tis franknefs all. If choleric, 
His temper, to be fure, is warm and quick ! 
Such is the way, me thinks, to banilh ftrife, 
To make men friends and keep them fo for life. 

But we invert the rule, and magic fpite 
Transforms ev'n virtues to their oppolite. 
Have we a modeft friend ? We call him lhy : 
Is he referved ? The wretch is dull and dry. 



s. in. The Satires. 47 

Or is he prompt to turn off every blow, 

Still on his guard againft the latent foe ? — 

(Since life's a path where fnares are fpread around 

And ambufh'd envy deals the treacherous wound) — 

For knowledge of the world and care difcreet, 

We term it arrant knavery and deceit. 

Does he at times unwittingly intrude, 

With idle prattle innocently rude, 

Or on our bufy or our thinking hours— 

(As I, fir, oft fecurely have on yours ?) 

Teafed we exclaim, What rank impertinence ! 

The blundering booby Jure wants common-fenfe. 

Alas ! thus unconcern'd we one and all 
Pronounce the law by which ourfelves muft fall. 
For who by birth is faultlefs ? and the beft — 
What means it but lefs faulty than the reft ? 
Let then the man, that would be call'd my friend, 
Whene'er he weighs my worth, in mercy bend 
To merit's fide (if merit's fide prevail), 
And kindly favour virtue's finking fcale. 
Slow to condemn and willing to efteem, 
Let fweet good-nature poife the trembling beam. 
Let him, I fay, to thefe fair terms agree ; 
And the fame favour fhall be mown by me. 
He (fays the proverb) who would hide a wen, 
At leaft mould fpare the warts of other men : 
Apply the maxim ; and in juftice you, 
Who claim indulgence, muft beftow it too. 

But, fince this vice of anger, like the reft, 
Can ne'er be rooted from the' untutor'd breaft, 
At leaft adjuft your wrath by Reafon's laws 
Nor let the confequence outrun the caufe. 
The flave, who, order'd to remove a difh, 



48 The Satires. b. i. 

Sips the warm fauce or licks the favoury filh, 
His mailer well may chide — and fo mould I : — 
But, if he hang the knave or crucify, 
More mad than Labeo he muft furely be 
In all men's eyes that were not mad as he. 
Now, how much worfe and more devoid of fenfe 
Is this ? — Your friend commits fome flight offence, 
Such as the man who would not foon forgive 
Were a barbarian churl unfit to live : 
For this you fcout him as a pelt,, and fhun 
Like Rufo's debtors when they meet their dun ! 
Rufo— who, when the difmal month's expired, 
Unlefs the wretch can raife the fum required, 
Bids his poor prifoner ftretch the liftening head, 
And with fome long citation reads him dead. 

My friend perhaps on fome convivial day 
Has flain'd with wine the couch on which he lay ; 
Has thrown a chalice down of curious mould, 
That grac'd Evander's royal hands of old ; 
Or, urged by hunger, reach'd acrofs the dim 
To feize the fatteft fowl or nneft fifh : — 
For fuch fmall faults to hate him were abfurd. 
What mail I do then, if he break his word ? 
What, if he prove perfidious or unjufl, — 
Forfwear a contract, or betray a truft? 

Some hold, 'tis true, that crimes are equal all ; 
But prefs their fophifhy with facts, 'twill fall : 
It contravenes all cuftom, feeling, fenfe, 
And that grand teft of right — expedience. 
What time amid the brutes at Nature's birth 
Man crawl'd to being from his parent-earth, 
Soon for the fheltering cave or fylvan food 
Fierce difcord rofe among the favage brood. 



s. in. The Satires. 49 

At firft with fifts — with cudgels next they fought, 

And arms at length ingenious malice wrought. 

Then follow'd fpeech, and names to things affign'd 

Stamp'd by the voice the motions of the mind. 

By flow degrees they ceaied their brutal ftrife 

To woo the gentler arts of focial life, — 

To build the town, with ramparts to enclofe, — 

'Till for the common welfare laws arofe ; 

Laws, to deter the bad, protect the juft, 

And curb the rage of rapine and of lull. 

For oft, ere Helen, had weak woman's charms 

Unfheath'd the fword and fet the world in arms. 

But then, when jult as random pafhon drove 

They fnatch'd the pleafures of promifcuous love, 

(As to the ftouteft bull the reft will yield, 

'Till one yet ftouter drive him from the field) 

Untutor'd ftrength would foon the fray decide, 

And thus unknown they fought — unfung they died. 

Trace in the records of the' hiftoric page 
The world's vaft annals back from age to age, 
This inference from the fearch you needs muft draw — 
That fear of outrage firft engender'd law. 
Pleafure from pain, an evil from a good 
Inftincl; difcerns, — but never underftood 
In what juft actions differ from unjuft, 
'Till ufe had ihown the need of mutual truft. 
Thus right and wrong is that which more or lefs 
Promotes or mars the general happiness : 
And ne'er can he be proved by logic found 
Who fnaps a cabbage from his neighbour's ground, 
Equal in guilt with him, who, leaping o'er 
All fhame, purloins the altar's facred ftore. 

Let then fome rule be fix'd, which may difpenfe 

£ 



50 The Satires. b. i, 

Proportion^ penalties to each offence : 
Nor him, whofe crime a ferule might atone, 
Cut with your bailinado to the bone. 
For, that you e'er will err on mercy's fide, 
And where the furious knowt mould be applied, 
Wave the light rod, quitting the too fevere 
For the too mild, — I fee but little fear : 
While facrilege and petty theft you fay 
Are equal, and (had you the fovereign fway) 
Be men's mifdeeds however great or fmall, 
The felf-fame vengeance mould await them all. 

Had you the fway! — Why if the Sage alone 
Can boaft all wit, worth, beauty, as his own, — 
If he be fir ft and beft in every thing, 
A fhoemaker and ' every inch a king,' — 
Do you not reign already? — Prithee, fool ! 
The ftoic cries, miftake not thus the rule, 
Confult Chryfippus — he Jhall end the ftrife : 
Perhaps the wife-man never in his life 
Made either fhoe or fandal ; yet we know 
He's fill a firft-r ate fhoemaker, — How fo ? — 
Was not Tigellius, when he held his tongue, 
A finger juft as much as when he fung ? 
Was not Alfenus, when he clofed his fall, 
Packed off his lafts, and laid afide his awl, 
Juftly confeder* d as a cobbler fill? 
So then the Sage, by virtue of his Jkill, 
Tho' exercifng none, may yet be faid 
To be a perfect mafter of each trade : 
He centers all things in himfelf alone, 
And reigns a monarch tho* without a throne. 

But, after all, methinks, great king of kings ! 
You fometimes fuffer moft unroyal things. 



s. in. The Satires. 51 

A troop of dirty boys, that form your fuite, 
Twitch your long beard and hoot you thro' the ftreet. 
In vain you lift your ftaff : the faucy throng 
Still mock your growlings as you mope along. 

In fhort — while you, dread fire ! among the many 
Bathe your illuftrious perfon for a penny ; — 
And none, to fwell the pageantry of ftate, 
Save dull Crifpinus, on your levee wait ; — 
Permit a fool like me, when he offends, 
To claim indulgence from his candid friends ; 
And in his turn o'erlooking their defecls 
To mow to them that mercy he expe£ts. 
Thus on your power, tho' mean, I may look down, 
And, tho' a Subjecl, envy not your Crown. 



SATIRE IV. 

CRATINUS, Eupolis, with fome few more 
Who trod the comic ftage in days of yore, 
Was there a knave or fcoundrel of their time, 
Rake, ruffian, thief — whatever were his crime, 
On him their honeft indignation hurl'd, 
And lanVd with freedom a licentious world. 

Clofe to their fteps and fludious of their fame, 
His numbers different — but his fcope the fame, 
Lucilius follow'd, ikill'd in taunts fevere 
To point at trembling vice the cauflic jeer. 
Yet, with addrefs and pleafantry enough, 
His ftyle was awkward and his verfes rough. 
For all his pride unhappily was plac'd 
In this — that what he wrote, he wrote with hafte ; 



52 The Satires. b. i. 

And had, while Handing on one foot, the power 

To fpin his lines two hundred in the hour. 

No wonder fure, if fuch a rapid flood 

Bore in its current no fmall ihare of mud : 

No wonder if the hand, which only cared 

For writing fail, wrote much that might be fpared. 

The toil of writing well is death to fuch : 

Yet, if not welly what matters it how much ? 

See, bold Crifpinus boafls fuch fluent eafe, 
He'll write a race with me for what I pleafe ! 
" Come on ! Take you your tablets," he will fay, 
" And I'll take mine ; appoint your place and day : 
" Let umpires watch us both ; and let us try 
" Which can compofe the falter — you or I." 

Thanks to my ilars that made me of a mind 
To brawls and babbling never much inclined, — 
Patient and poor in fpirit, flow to boaft, 
And oft, when mofl contemn'd, contented moil ! 
Go on then, ye that lift, to give free vent 
To every thought within your bofoms pent ! 
Go, ape the blackfmith's leathern lungs that blow 
Till the fufed mafs in ruddy current flow. 
Bleft Fannius, whofe kind friends, unafk'd, combine 
To bear his buft and books to Phoebus' fhrine, 
The world applauding ! — while, whate'er I write, 
Before that world I tremble to recite, — 
Aware that fatire fuits not gentle ears, 
And each man hates it — becaufe each man fears. 

Pick me a man at random from the throng; — 
My life upon't, there's fomething in him wrong : 
Bafe envy fours him, or ambition fires ; 
He burns with lawlefs love or worfe defires ; 
Or pines the fculptured filver to amafs, 






s. iv. The Satires. 53 

Or dotes with Albius on Corinthian brafs ; 
Or traffics from the climes of orient day 
To realms that glow beneath the fetting ray : 
See how from port to port, from more to more, 
Urged headlong by the reftlefs third of more, — 
And, tho' ftill faving, eager ftill to fave, — 
Like dull before the wind, he fkims the wave ! 
No wonder fure if thefe and fuch as thefe 
The poet and his verfe alike difpleafe. 

Like a mad bull, they fhun him thro' the ftreets ; 
" Beware," they cry : " he butts at all he meets ! 
" And, if he can but let his fpleen o'erflow, 
" The fpiteful creature fpares nor friend nor foe : 
" Befides, whate'er he once has written down, 
" He's wretched 'till 'tis known to half the town, 
" And at the baker's ihop or public well 
" Men — women — boys the witty flander tell." 

A few plain words in my defence I claim : 
Firft from the lift of Poets ftrike my name. 
For not the merely fmooth and flowing line — 
Much lefs fuch loofe pedeftrian verfe as mine — 
Confers that title. No — the Bard is he 
Who boafts a genius bold, creative, free ; 
Whofe fancy, when diviner thoughts infpire, 
Springs up aloft to foar on wings of fire ; 
Whofe words in more than mortal accents roll, 
And echo back the greatnefs of his foul. 

Hence fome have doubted if 'twere right to call 
The Comic Drama poetry at all ; 
Since nor its ftyle nor matter is impreft 
With that fine rage which fills the poet's breaft, — 
And, fave that all in meafured cadence flows, 
Its di&ion differs not from Ample profe. 



54 The Satires. b. i. 

" Yet," you object, " the father ftamps the ftage 

" And rates his fon with more than profe-like rage, 

" When the gay ftripling, deaf to wifdom's lore, 

" Slights the rich heirefs for the thriftlefs whore ; 

" Or ftaggering forth, 'ere night obfcures the iky, 

" Waves in the open ftreet his torch on high." 

But, were Pomponius* lire his fon to fee, 

Would he not rave and fcold as loud as he ? 

'Tis not enough then merely to inclofe 

Plain fenfe in numbers, — which if you tranfpofe, 

The words were fuch as any man might fay, 

J uft like the ranting father in the play. 

Take but from mine or old Lucilius' rhime 

This regular return of meafured time, — 

Let every line's arrangement be reverfed, 

And place the firft word laft — the laft word firrl ; 

What's the refult ? — Tis poetry no more, 

And therefore was not poetry before. 

Not fo — When Difcord brake the ponderous bar 

And oped the adamantine gates of War : 

Here diflocate— diftort him, as you will; — 

Tho' piecemeal torn, you fee the Poet ftill. 

How far this kind of writing forms or no 
A proper poem, we may elfewhere mow : 
Proceed we now to that more ferious head — 
How far it forms an object of juft dread. 
Caprius and Sulcius with their bags and books, 
Writs in their hands and gibbets in their looks, 
Walk forth and ftrike, wherever they appear, 
The felon and the thief with confcious fear. 
Yet he whofe hands are pure, who keeps his oath, 
Nor wrongs his neighbour, may defpife them both. 
Now tho' a rogue, like Ccelius, you may be, 



s. iv. The Satires. 55 

It follows not that Caprius is like me. 
My books on no vile flail or column ftand, 
Soil'd by Tigellius' and each vulgar hand. 
When I recite them (which I feldom do), 
'Tis but in private to a friend or two, — 
At their requeft, not of my own free grace, — 
Not before all, nor yet in every place. 
I grant that fome lefs delicate there are, 
Who fpout their poems in the public fquare, — 
Or in the bath, where fweetly floats the found 
Re-echo'd by the vaulted roof around. 
Coxcombs, thus eager to obtrude their rhime, 
Feel little fcruple about place and time. 

I write (you tell me) with a bafe delign, 
And fpiteful rancour dictates every line. 
Whence and from whom do thefe foul charges flow ? 
Can any, that have known me, tell you fo ? 
The wretch who can revile an abfent friend, 
Or, when reviled, is backward to defend ; — 
Who thinks ill-nature wit ; and, poorly proud 
To catch the laughter of a grinning croud, 
Bids from his lips the hallow'd fecret fly, 
Or, when truth fails him, coins the blackening lie : 
If fuch there be, him, Romans ! it were well 
To mark : his touch is death, his heart is hell ! 

Go, fcan a party but of twelve, reclined 
Around the genial board, and you fhall find 
That fome more pert and overbearing gueft 
With faucy jokes befpatters all the reft; — 
All but his hoft, — and him too, when the bowl 
Gives licence to the tongue and bares the foul. 
Yet he's a boon companion, frank and free ; 
While every jeft is blafphemy in me : 



56 The Satires. b. i. 

And if perchance I fmiling fay — The fop 
Rufillus breathes of perfumes from the Jhop, 
G or gonitis glories in a goat-like f me 11, — 
Oh ! tis fuch fcandal as no tongue can tell ! 

Mention perhaps is in your prefence made 
Of him who filck'd the crown from Jove's own head. 
Now hear the cenfor of the* envenom'd page ! 
Now fee him glow with friendship's generous rage ! 
Not fo ; he damns, while feeming to defend : — 
" Petillius was my very worthy friend ; 
" From early youth I've been his frequent gueft, 
" And many has he ferved at my requeft : 
" So after all he lives, and lives at large ; — 
" Well, 'troth, I'm glad; but 'twas an ugly charge." 
Here is the honey'd lip and heart of coal, 
The canker-juice and night-fhade of the foul. 
Now, fpite like this, I'll venture to engage, 
Ne'er ftain'd my heart, nor e'er mall ftain my page. 

But if I jell more freely now and then, 
And give a larger licence to my pen, 
Some early habits wrought into my frame 
Plead my excufe— if not fupport my claim. 
A tender father taught my youthful breaft 
To mark the vice he wifh'd me to deteft, 
And warn'd me what to fhun and what purfue 
By holding apt examples to my view. 
If he would have me frugally inclined, 
Content with what himfelf could leave behind, 
" Look," he would fay, " at Albius' ruin'd fon ; 
" See Barrus by his own excefs undone ! 
" An ufeful leifon this to all young heirs 
" To guard againft extravagance like theirs." 
If he would arm me 'gainft the wanton's eye, 



s. iv. The Satires. 57 

"Take warning from Sectanus," he would cry ; 

And that I might not woo the wedded dame, 

While fafety recommends a fan&ioned flame, 

" Trebonius," he would hint, " kick'd out of doors, 

" Gain'd little credit by his loofe amours. 

" The lectures of the wife, my fon, 'erelong 

" Will point you out the grounds of right and wrong. 

" Enough for me if my poor art infpires 

" Plain rules of life tranfmitted from our fires, 

" Which, while you need a guardian, may fecure 

" Your morals chafte, your reputation pure : 

" When manhood gives your mind a firmer tone, 

" You'll drop thefe corks and item the tide alone." 

With fuch monitions providently kind 
He moulded to his will my youthful mind : 
And if he urged me to a virtue, " See, 
" For this you've good authority," faid he ; 
" Copy that man's example," — holding forth 
Some judge or ilatefman of acknowledged worth. 
If he would frighten me from fomething bafe, 
'Twas then — " That fuch things lead but to difgrace 
" Henceforth you cannot doubt ; for mark, my fon, 
" The bad repute of fuch or fuch an one." 
Juft as a neighbour's funeral pafTing near 
Strikes the fick glutton with a wholefome fear, 
So, when it meets the tender {tripling' s eyes, 
Another's fhame oft warns him to be wife. 

Well, thanks then to a parent's timely care, 
Such crimes as tend to ruin and defpair 
Taint not my foul. To fome fmall faults indeed, 
Some venial frailties, guilty ftill I plead. 
And haply thefe too may in time be brought 
To yield to friendly counfel and fage thought : 



58 The Satires. b. i, 

For, whether on my couch fupinely laid 

Or fauntering in the public colonnade, 

Still to myfelf fome leflbn I impart, 

And thus in fecret commune with my heart : 

Here duty points j — this path to comfort tends ; — 

Thus I may win the* affeclions of my friends j — 

This or that folly be it mine to fhun 

Taught by the fate offuch or fuch an one. 

Such are my dumb foliloquies : when time 
Permits, I pen them down in fportive rhime ; 
A practice to be numberM, I allow, 
Among thofe lighter faults I named jufl now. 
But if, extreme to mark what is amifs, 
You floop to cenfure fuch a fault as this, 
A holt of verfe-men to my aid I'll call, 
(And trull my word, our forces are not fmall) 
Who, like the Jews, if Hill our feci you flight, 
Shall drag you off a trembling profelyte. 



SATIRE V. 

FORTH from majeflic Rome I took my way, 
And reach'd Aricia 'ere the clofe of day, 
With Heliodorus excellently verfed 
In rhetoric and of learned Greeks the nrft. 
There having met with tolerable cheer, 
Our courfe to Appii-forum next we fleer, 
A town with tars and cheating tapflers throng'd : 
Thus to a two-days' journey we prolonged 
A diflance which more light-heel'd travelers go 
In one : the Appian road befl fuits the flow. 



s. v. The Satires. 59 

And finding here the water thick as mud, 
I fairly waged a war with flefh and blood, 
In not the beft of humours Handing ftill 
While my lefs dainty comrades ate their fill. 

Now Night 'gan fold this nether world in made 
And o'er the heavens her ftarry mantle fpread, 
When the hoarfe boatmen at our flaves let loofe — 
And thefe at them — much clamorous abufe. 
Haul back ajhore, d'ye hear? — Zounds, here's a rout ; 
Avaft — you' II fink us — -fee what you're about ! 
While thus they wrangle, take our freights, and tie 
The mule which tow'd us, full an hour flips by. 
The gnats and croaking natives of the lake 
All night confpired to keep me wide awake. 
Our tar too and the mule-driver began, 
Drench'd to the full with many a vapid can, 
To carol forth alternately an air 
Each in the praifes of his abfent fair. 
At lafl the drowfy mule-driver gave o'er, 
And laid him down upon the bank to fnore : 
The pilot moor'd his vefTel to a tree, 
Turn'd off the mule, and fnored as loud as he. 
And now the dawn of day was near at hand, 
When lo ! we find our tow-boat at a ftand : 
'Till up ftarts one, and with a fallow club 
Cut from the fhore, begins in wrath to drub 
The loins and fhoulders both of mule and men ; 
Thus, 'ere we difembark'd, 'twas almoft ten. 

Right glad was each his hands and face to lave 
Feronia ! in thy pure and facred wave. 
After a flight repaft three miles we creep 
To where bright Anxur crowns the rocky lteep. 
The good Maecenas and Cocceius here 



60 The Satires. b. i, 

Were on that day expected to appear, 

Commiffion'd each for moll important ends 

And fkill'd to reconcile divided friends. 

Here then we flop : — and while my hand applies 

The lenient falve to my diflemper'd eyes, 

Maecenas and Cocceius both arrive, 

And with them, that mofl polifh'd man alive, 

Fonteius Capito, than whom none fhared 

A higher place in Anthony's regard. 

We pafs through Fundi, laughing at the flate 
Of Lufcus, now its pompous magiflrate, 
The fmoking cenfer, the impurpled veil, 
And broad lace beaming on a Scrivener's breafl. 
To Formiae next, where gladly we repofe ; — 
Lodg'd at Muraena's, fupp'd at Capito's. 

Sweet was the dawn of the fucceeding day ; 
For SinuefTa, where our journey lay, 
Brought Plotius, Varius, Virgil to our view, — 
Three fouls as generous as the world e'er knew. 
To fuch in friendfhip may I flill be bound ! 
Oh, what embraces, what delights went round ! 
Sure of all blemngs fent us from above 
There's none like meeting with the friend we love. 

Near the Campanian bridge we next alight, 
Where a fmall hamlet lodg'd us for the night, 
And the purveyors (as the laws require 
On fuch occafions) furnifhed food and fire. 

Our trufly mules then taking the ilraight road 
To Capua, in good hour refign their load: 
Whither arrived, Maecenas brifkly goes 
To tennis — I and Virgil to repofe ; 
His weak digeflion and my weaker eyes 
Unfitting both for fuch keen exercife. 






s. v. The Satires. 6i 

Thence to Cocceius' pleafant feat we come 
Which overlooks the Inns ofCaudium; 
Where, nobly entertain'd by him, we fhare 
A large profufion of delicious fare. 

And now, kind Mufe ! affift me to difclofe 
A fierce rencounter 'twixt two valiant foes, — 
MeiTius Cicirrus this, a gawky wight — 
Sarmentus that, a fpunging parafite. 
Birth to the former far-fam'd Ofci gave ; 
The latter was — or mould have been — a flave. 
Such were the chiefs. Sarmentus firft exclaim'd, 
" You look as favage as a colt untamed." 
MeiTius on this pretends to make his mane ; 
Am IP quoth he; have at you then again I 
" 'Tis well (retorts the foe) that horny fprout 
" Which graced your forehead, has been rooted out ; 
" For elfe how juftly had we quaked with dread, 
" Since mangled thus you threaten with your head ! " 
It chanced, as ufual on Campania's more, 
A ghaftly blotch upon his front he bore. 
So after many a jell upon his face 
And that grim fear which mark'd his native place, 
Sarmentus begs him without lofs of time 
To* enacl the Cyclops in the pantomime ; — 
No need of bufkins, mafk, or fcenic art, 
Since Nature's felf had form'd him for the part. 
Then MefTms afks, if to the Lares now 
His chains were hung according to his vow. 
" That fcrivener's trade," adds he, " which you 

profefs, 
" Makes not your miftrefs' claim one jot the lefs. 
" But prithee, wherefore did you flee away ? 
" Why fcorn your Hated pound of meal per day? 



62 The Satires. b. i. 

" For furely 'twas enough and plenty too 
" For fuch a puny fcare-crow thing as you ?" 
Right pleafantly that evening did we fup, 
And much we laugh'd and long we kept it up. 

Then ftraight for Beneventum, where our hoft 
Putting fome meagre thrufhes down to roafl, 
The flame's wild fury burning thro' the ftove 
KifT'd in afpiring curls the roof above. 
Forth ruffling then were feen with one accord 
The trembling menial and his hungry lord, 
All actively employ' d in various ways 
To fnatch the remnants and to quench the blaze. 

Appulia's well-known hills appear at laft, 
Whofe hoary fummits face the parching blaft ; 
Nor mould we e'er have climbed their rugged height, 
Had not Trivicum lodg'd us for the night, 
Where the green leaves and crackling fagots fly, 
'Till clouds of fmoke drew tears from every eye. 
'Twas here I ftaid (oh ! fools that lovers are !) 
Full half the night to meet a faithlefs fair ; 
But fleep furprifed me warm'd with loofe defires, 
And balmy vifions quench'd my amorous fires. 

Borne thence in chaifes eight long leagues, we came 
To a fmall town, whofe unpoetic name 
Suits not my verfe : but thus it may be told ; — 
Water, fo common elfewhere, here is fold ; 
Its bread fo excellent, that travelers fage 
Here ftore their wallets for the following ftage : 
Canufium bakes it gritty, nor is richer 
In point of water by one Jingle pitcher. 
This town, if we may credit what is faid, 
Was built of old by valiant Diomed. 
Here Varius from his friends in forrow parts, 



s. v. The Satires. 63 

And leaves us with moift eyes and aching hearts. 

At night the town of Rubi tired we gain, 
The journey long, the roads knee-deep with rain. 
Next day to Barium's walls we ftretch our courfe, 
The weather fairer, but the ways (till worfe. 

Egnatia (on the founding of which town 
Sure all the nymphs look'd inaufpicious down, 
And ftamp'd her fons the fillieft race on earth) 
Produced a fund of pleafantry and mirth : 
For incenfe in the facred portal laid 
Melts (they pretend) without the cenfer's aid. 
Such tales may fuit the forefkin-clipping Jew : 
We hold that heaven has fomething elfe to do, — 
Nor, if in nature's courfe fome wonders rife 
Believe the' immortal Pow'rs defert the ikies, 
To ruffle their ferenity of blifs 
By conj'ring paltry miracles like this. 

Brundufium terminates our labours long ; 
Where as my journey ends, fo ends my fong. 



SATIRE VI. 

THO' all the Tufcans, fmce the days of yore 
When Lydia colonifed Etruria's ihore, 
You, dear Maecenas ! far in birth outfhine; — 
Tho' your progenitors in either line 
O'er mighty legions ftretch'd imperial fway 
And reap'd immortal laurels in their day ; — 
You fcout not others with difdainful pride, 
Nor fneer at Horace tho' to Haves allied. 



64 The Satires. b. i. 

No matter where (you fay) or whence they rofe, 
If but their blood in gentle current flows : — 
Juftly convinced that, long before that hour 
When menial Tullius was advanced to power, 
Thoufands had rif'n to office, whofe high worth 
Burft the weak barrier of ignoble birth; 
While yonder wretch Laevinus, tho' he trace 
Down from Valerius his unfullied race — 
(That great republican whofe patriot hand 
Thruft the proud Tarquin from a groaning land) 
The croud ftill rated at his proper price, 
Nor in his lineage overlook'd his vice : 
That croud — who oft their gifts on knaves bellow, 
The tools of pride, the worfhippers of mow, 
Who gaze with ftupid reverence on the dull 
Of crumbling flames and the titled bull. 

But fay, what courfe mull little folk purfue, 
Who, tho' obfcure like me, can think with you ? 
For, grant that with the mob mere birth and name 
Too often triumph over virtue's claim, — 
That many a bafe Laevinus will prevail 
Where new-fprung worth mull in a Decius fail, — 
That fome Hern Appius would my name erafe 
As by defcent difqualifled for place ; — 
(And faith the Cenfor juftly may calhier 
The upftart fool that quits his proper fphere) — 
Yet not to birth alone belongs that fire 
Which prompts the glowing bofom to afpire ; 
Chain'd to her car in bright triumphal Hate, 
Glory alike leads on both fmall and great. 

Say what avail'd thee, Tillius ! that thy pride 
Bade thee refume the purple thrown alide, 
And ftamp'd thee Tribune? — Envy's tongue grew 
loud, 



s. vi. The Satires. 65 

And they, that fpared thee humble, fpurn'd thee 

Soon as the leg in fable lkins is drefT'd [proud. 

And the broad purple glitters on the bread, 

From that time forth it gives the whifper room — 

Who is yon fen at or ? and fprung from whom ? 

As he, that pines, like Barrus, to be thought 

A perfect beauty without fpeck or fault, 

Makes all the girls inquifitive to know 

Each feveral feature of fo fmart a beau, — 

" What is his flature ? is he brown or fair ? 

" What fort of leg, foot, ankle, teeth, and hair?" — 

So he that undertakes to guide the flate 

And charge his moulders with a nation's weight, 

To watch the people's interefl, to infpect 

The fhrines, and all the empire to protect, — 

He that profefTes this flupendous tafk 

Forthwith compels a flaring world to afk, 

From whom he fprang, — to whom he is allied, — 

And whether fpotlefs on the mother's fide. 

" Shall you " — then cries (methinks) indignant 
Rome — 
€t The fpawn of Cyrus, Dama, God knows whom, 
" Hurl us at will from the Tarpeian rock 
" And give the free-born Roman to the block ?" 
And yet my colleague (he fhall flraight reply) 
Is lozuer by one whole degree than I ; 
For what my father was, is Novius now. 
" And what if that," they anfwer, " we allow — 
" Are you then a MefTala ? mull you rife 
<( At once a Paulus in your own vain eyes ? 
<( Befides know this — that Novius is graced 
4C With gifts Hill better fuited to our tafle : 
" For in the Forum mould two hundred wains 



66 The Satires. b. i. 

" Encounter with rude fhock three funeral trains, 

" So ftrong — fo clear is his Stentorian bawl, 

" He'd fllence hoofs and horns and trumpets all." 

But come, to Horace turn we back awhile, 
Horace, the f reed-man's fon, whom all revile — 
Now, becaufe you, Maecenas, condefcend 
To bid him fhare your board a welcome friend, — 
In former days, becaufe, to rank preferr'd, 
A Roman legion harken'd to his word. 
Yet mark the difference : Tho' the Tribune's poll 
In me were juflly an invidious boaft, 
Not fo your friendfhip who with no low views 
Ghufe but by worth, and ponder 'ere you chufe. 

That luck befriended me they cannot fay : 
For 'twas not luck which threw me in your way. 
Virgil inform'd you what I was, of old ; 
And Varius fince the fame kind tale has told. 
When ufher'd, with few words and faultering tongue 
(For bafhful diffidence its powers unflrung) 
I did not boaft my birth — I did not fay 
That round my wide domains I took my way 
Borne on Saturian fteed : but neither lefs 
Nor more than what I was, did I profefs. 
You fpoke, as ufual, briefly : I withdrew : 
At nine months' end you fummon'd me anew, 
And bade me be your friend : I grateful bow'd : 
For proud I felt, and ever mall feel proud, 
To be approved by one whofe liberal foul 
Difcerns the good and bad, the fair and foul, 
Not by nobility of birth and kin, 
But by the better noblenefs within. 

If, fave fome venial flaws, no grofs defedl 
Sullies my nature — otherwife correct — 



s. vi. The Satires. 67 

(As here and there the fearching eye may trace 
A mole or freckle in the faireft face) 
If none with reafon can my life accufe 
As given to griping avarice or the Hews — 
If I am found (for praife myfelf I mull) 
Dear to my friends, if innocent, if juft — 
Mean tho' my parentage, my birth tho' low, 
'Tis to a parent's care this boaft I owe. 

Poor as he was, fcant as his acres were, 
He fcorn'd to trull a village pedant's care ; 
And, while to Flavius' fchool his neighbours' fons, 
Great youths derived from great Centurions, 
Would go, with Hate and fatchel at their fides, 
And copper ilipend paid per monthly Ides, 
His boy at once to Rome he boldly brought 
Each nobler branch of fcience to be taught, 
Which fons of Knights or Senators require : 
He that had feen my lackeys, my attire, 
Might fwear the fund that furnifh'd fuch fupplies 
Had pall from lire to fon for centuries. 
Himfelf, my bell and truflieft guardian found, 
Still faw me fafe to all my teachers round. 
In Ihort he kept my challity of mind 
(That fairell flower in virtue's garland twined) 
Pure not in action only and in will, 
But from all femblance and attaint of ill. 
Nor fear'd he what a cenfuring world might fay 
Should I, with all his care, fome future day 
A drudging cryer at public fales be feen, 
Or calh-colle&or, as himfelf had been. 
Nor had I, even in that low ellate, 
Blamed his expenfe or deem'd his care too great ; 
But now, fmce fate had nobler things in llore, 



68 The Satires. b. i. 

He claims my praife — my gratitude — the more. 

Ne'er mall I blufh, while reafon holds her throne, 
To call a father fuch as this my own. 
Let others urge that never-failing plea — 
That need, not choice, made low their pedigree; 
And, could the fates fubmit to their control, 
Fair titles mould adorn its ample fcroll. 
In my defence be no fuch pretext fought; 
Far is my voice from theirs, and far my thought. 
Could I at nature's hands the boon obtain 
From certain years to trace pad life again, 
With leave to chufe what parents pleafed me bell 
As pride might prompt or fancy might fuggefl ; 
To each his wifli — for me, content with mine, 
The flattering change I'd cheerfully decline, 
Renounce the boaft of pageantry and place, 
And fcorn the ivory chair and lienor's mace. 
For this odd whim I may be call'd, 'tis true, 
Mad by the world — but wife, I trull, by you ; — 
Wife to fhift off a fplendid load of care 
Which as I ne'er had borne, I ne'er could bear. 

For wealth I then mull get, no matter how, — 
And pay to all I meet the cringing bow ; 
Nor take a journey or a rural ride 
Without a dozen danglers at my fide, 
Lell to the world the fad difgrace be known 
That Horace went from town and went alone. 
A coach comes next, with horfes — footmen — plate, 
And all the pomp and all the plague of Hate. 
But now bellriding my cropp'd mule at eafe 
I jog it to Tarentum if I pleafe ; 
And, while the cloakbag makes his crupper fore, 
His rider galls him in the ribs before. 



s. vi. The Satires. 69 

Yet none for this will fay that I am mean, — 
As, Tillius ! thou, when Praetor thou art feen 
With five poor flaves, who fweating at the tafk 
Bear at thy heels a Hewing- ftove and flafk. 

Thus many a comfort I enjoy, which you, 
Great fir ! and thoufands of the great, ne'er knew. 
Alone I faunter when I will and where, 
Afk here the price of flour — of potherbs there ; 
Around the lying Circus carelefs ftray, 
Or walk the Forum at the clofe of day, 
And hear the fates : — then hie me home to eat 
My porringer of fcallions, pulfe, and beet. 
Three boys attend their mailer while he fups ; 
A white flab holds a pitcher and two cups : 
Hard by a patera for libations Hands, 
With a coarfe cruife and bafm for my hands, — 
All cheap Campanian ware. Then off to reft, 
My mind by no perplexing thoughts diftrefT'd 
That I mult rife betimes the following morn 
To vifit Marfyas, who with looks of fcorn 
And hand uplifted vows he cannot bear 
That younger Novius' felf-conceited air. 
'Till ten I lie ; then ramble forth ; or write, 
Or read, as long as either gives delight : 
When fedentary filence tires, I rife 
And oil my limbs for manly exercife, 
Not with fuch greafe as from the lamp's dull flame 
Natta purloins to fmear his filthy frame. 
And when fatigue or noon's intenfer ray 
From toil and tennis fummon me away, 
I feek the bath ; with flight repaft fuftain 
My ftomach for the hours which yet remain ; 
Then lounge within-doors ; and the day from hence 



70 The Satires. b. i. 

Glides to a clofe in eafy indolence. 

Such is the quiet life to thofe decreed 
Who hate ambition — fuch the life I lead ; 
Secure in greater comfort thus to live 
Than crown'd with all the grandeur birth can give ; 
Happier than if my pedigree could boaft 
Of Quaeftors — Praetors — Senators a hoft. 



SATIRE VII. 

HOW half-bred Perjtus clipp'd the venom'd fting 
Of that pert outlaw hight Rupilius King, 
Gagg'd his foul mouth and put his rancour down — 
Is known through all the barbers' mops in town. 
Much wealth by ufury had this Perfius made 
And ftill in Afia drove a thriving trade ; 
With King too now he urged a teazing fuit, 
Sturdy as he and keenly refolute, 
With flang fo glib as left on wings o' th' wind 
Sifenna, Barrus, many a length behind. 

But to my tale : — When neither would concede 
And each refolved to conquer or to bleed — 
(For warriors ftill are leaft difpofed to yield 
Who moft have proved their prowefs in the field, 
As Hector and Achilles wont to fwell 
With mutual rage that death alone could quell — 
Why but becaufe for feats of valour known 
Each claim' d the prize of glory for his own? — 
While cowards, when they quarrel, foon retreat ; 
And, when unequal champions chance to meet, 
The weak with proffer'd gifts redeems his head, 



s. vii. The Satires. 71 

As whilome Glaucus did to Diomed) 

Bent then on law, what time great Brutus bore 

Praetorian fway on Afia's fertile more, 

Forth ftep the combatants, a doughty pair ; 

And here Rupilius Hands, and Perfius there. 

Never did nobler lpeclacle engage 

The eye, or ftouter champions mount the flage. 

Perfius firft Hates the cafe, 'till all around 
Loud peals of laughter thro' the court refound. 
Brutus and all his fuite he loads with praife, — 
Calls him a Sun which fheds its kindly rays 
On Afia's coaft ; and all the reft, fave King, 
Planets that rife with healing in their wing : 
Him a vile Dog-ftar, hateful to the fwain, 
That carries death and famine in its train. 
Thus roll'd his tide of eloquence along ; 
The wintry torrent not more bold and ftrong, 
Which fweeps its way through forefts of high oak 
That never echo'd to the woodman's ftroke ! 

Prasnefte's fon now rifes and replies 
With biting taunts and foul fcurrilities, 
Rank as vine-drefTers fling, when perch'd on high 
They hear the cuckoo in each pafTer-by. 

Nettled with thefe home gibes, uprofe the Greek 
With brief rejoinder : <( Brutus ! hear me fpeak ; 
" Thy fires were patriots in Rome's earlier day, 
" Nor thou a patriot lefs renown'd than they : 
" Since then from regicide thy glory fprings, 
" Speak — ftrike — redrefs, and trounce this worfl of 
kings ! f l 



72 The Satires. b. l 



SATIRE VIII. 

TIME was when I, the god of gardens, flood 
A very worthlefs log of fig-tree wood ; 
And long the ruflic artift was in doubt 
Into what form 'twere befl to cut me out, — 
Whether to exercife his art and tool 
In fafhioning a god or a joint-ilool. 
At length he fix'd upon a fhape divine, 
And that of great Priapus foon was mine. 
Behold me now then to a god preferr'd, 
The dread of many a rogue and many a bird ! 
For my right hand which holds a hook, but chief 
This ruddy flake, appals the prowling thief. 
A reed too fluck upon my head you'll find 
That waves and whiflles to the pamng wind, 
At which the feather'd plunderers taking fright 
Far from thefe new plantations wing their flight. 

Hither of old dragg'd from his narrow cot 
The flave bore forth his fellow flave to rot ; 
Hither for burial throng'd the poor man's bier, 
And wretches relied from their labours here. 
Here flept the lozel rake, the beggar'd loon, 
Camus the fot and Manlius the buffoon. 
How long — how broad thefe precincts of the dead, 
Engraved on yonder flone may flill be read : 
Ten by three hundred feet — fee, pledged it bears — 
Ne'er to revert to the teftator's heirs. 
But now Efquilia boafls its balmy air, 
Its funny terrace and its bright parterre ; 



s. viii. The Satires. 73 

And green boughs waft delicious fragrance round, 
Where lately thigh-bones bleach'd the ghaftly ground. 

Yet not to me are thieves or fowls that dare 
To haunt this fpot, one half fo great a care 
As thofe infernal hags who here moleft 
With charms and baneful drugs the human breaft. 
Thefe can no art reftrain — no terror chafe ; 
But foon as Cynthia lifts her full-orb'd face, 
Away they fally forth, and hunt with fpeed 
For human bones, and cull each noxious weed. 

The curft Canidia I myfelf have feen 
With fable mantle and diforder'd mien 
Follow'd by Sagana : their feet were bare, 
High-girt their robes, and loofe their flaky hair. 
Loud were their yellings, terrible their fhrieks, 
And hideous palenefs overfpread their cheeks. 
Then fquatted to the ground each beldame witch ! 
And, delving in the earth a magic ditch, 
A coal-black lamb with rabid teeth they tore, 
And dropp'd into the pit its reeking gore ; 
That, forced by forcery from the filent tomb, 
The fhadowy ghofls might tell of things to come. 
Two little effigies they then difplay'd, 
And this of wool and that of wax was made ; 
The woollen one was larger, form'd (I guefs) 
To domineer and lord it o'er the lefs. 
The waxen trembling flood in piteous guife, 
And fued for mercy with imploring eyes. 
Meanwhile the beldams bow'd the fuppliant knee, 
Invoking Hecat and Tifiphone. 
Anon were feen fnakes crawling from below, 
And barking hell-hounds hurried to and fro ; 
Till Cynthia blufhing at the impious rite 



74 The Satires. b. is 

Behind a lofty tomb-Hone veil'd her light. 

If ought beiide the truth thefe lips have faid, 
May owls and jackdaws dung upon my head ! 
And may each Julius, pathic, thief, and rogue 
Beneath my facred noftrils difembogue ! 

Why need I add how, while the ghofts difcourfe 
With Sagana, fhrill tones encounter hoarfe ? 
Why tell of all I fhuddering faw and heard — 
How with an adder's tooth a fhe-wolf's beard 
They hid in earth, — how fire by magic raifed 
Around the waxen form with fury blazed — 
How fhock'd, in fhort, to witnefs all that paft 
I wreak'd my vengeance on the Huts at laft? 
For, loud as a blown bladder burfts afunder, 
My fig-tree poftern gave a crack like thunder. 
Scared at the noife, the witches flinging down 
Their apparatus, fcamper'd off to town ; 
And wing'd with terror ran at fuch a rate, 
That this let fall her teeth, and that her tete ; 
Oh 'twould have made you laugh to fee them bound, 
While herbs and wreaths and fpells beftrew'd the 
ground ! 



SATIRE IX. 

ALONG the Sacred Street I chanced to ftray 
Mufing I know not what, as is my way, 
And wholly wrapt in thought — when up there came 
A fellow fcarcely known to me by name : 
Grafping my hand, " My dear friend, how d'ye do ? 
" And pray," he cried, " how wags the world with 
you?" 



s. ix. The Satires. 75 

/ thank you, pajjing well, as times go now ; 

Your ferv ant : — And with that I made my bow. 

But finding him ftill dangle at my fleeve 

Without the flighteft fign of taking leave, 

I turn with cold civility and fay — 

Any thing further. Sir, with me to-day ? 

" Nay, truce with this referve ! it is but fit 

" We two were friends, fince I'm a brother-wit." 

Here fome dull compliment I flammer'd out, 

As, That, Sir, recommends you much no doubt. 

Vex'd to the foul and dying to be gone, 
I flacken now my pace, now hurry on ; 
And fometimes halt at once in full career, 
Whifpering fome trifle in my lackey's ear. 
But when he ftill ftuck by me as before, — 
Sweating with inward fpleen at every pore, 
Oh ! how I long'd to let my paflion pafs, 
And figh'd, Bolanus, for thy front of brafs ! 

Meanwhile he keeps up one incefTant chat 
About the ftreets, the houfes, and all that : 
Marking at laft my filence — " Well," faid he, 
" 'Tis pretty plain you're anxious to get free : 
" But patience, darling Sir ! fo lately met — 
" Odflife ! I cannot think of parting yet. 
" Inform me, whither are your footfteps bound ? " 
To fee (but pray don't let me drag you round) 
A friend of mine, who lies extremely ill 
A mile beyond the bridge, or further fill. 
" Nay then, come on ! I've nothing elfe to do ; 
* And as to diftance, what is that — with you!" 

On hearing this, quite driven to defpair, 
Guefs what my looks and what my feelings were ! 
Never did afs upon the public road, 



76 The Satires. b. i. 

When on his back he felt a double load, 
Hang both his ears fo difmal and fo blank. 
" In me, Sir/* he continues, " to be frank, 
6 ' You know not what a friend you have in {lore : 
" Vifcus and Varius will not charm you more. 
' ' For as to dancing, who with me can vie ? 
" Or who can fcribble verfe fo fait as I ? 
" Again, in powers of voice fo much I fhine 
" Hermogenes himfelf might envy mine." 

Here for a moment, pufpd with felf-applaufe, 
He ftopp'd ; I took advantage of the paufe : 
Tbefe toils will Jborten, fure, your precious life ; 
Have you no loving mother, friend, or wife 
Who takes an inter eft in your fate ? — " Oh, no ; 
" Thank heaven ! they're all difpofed of long ago." 

Good luck (thought 1), by thee no longer vex'd 1 
So T, itfeems, mult be difpofed ofntxV. 
Well, let me but at once refign my breath ; 
To die by inches thus were worfe than death. 
Now, now I fee the doom approaching near, 
Which once was told me by a gofTip feer : 
While yet a boy, the wrinkled beldame fhook 
Her urn, and, eyeing me with piteous look, 
" Poor lad !" fhe cried, " no mifchief fhalt thou feel 
u Or from the poifon'd bowl or hoftile fteel ; 
" Nor pricking pleurify, nor hectic cough, 
ei Nor flow-confuming gout ihall take thee off : 
" 'Tis thy fad lot, when grown to man's eftate, 
" To fall the victim of a puppy's prate : 
" Go, treafure in thy mind the truths I've fung, 
" And fhun, if thou art wife, a chattering tongue." 

•At Vefta's temple we arrived at laft ; 
And now one quarter of the day was paft — 



s. ix. The Satires. 77 

When by the greateft luck he had, I found, 
To ftand a fuit, and by the law was bound 
Either to anfwer to the charges brought, 
Or elfe to fuffer judgment by default. 
" I'm forry to detain you here," he cried ; 
" But might I aik you juft to ftep afide ?" 
You muft excufe me ; legs fo cramp* d with gout 
As mine, I fear, could 71 ever ftand it out : 
Then, may I perijh if I've Jkill or tafte 
For law ; befides, you know I am in bafte* 
" Faith, now you make me doubtful what to do ; 
" Whether to facriiice my caufe or you." 
Me, by all means, Sir ! — me, I beg and pray. 
" Not for the world," cried he, and led the way. 
Convinced all further ftruggle was but vain, 
I follow like a captive in his train. 

" Well" — he begins afrefh — " how Hand you, Sir, 
" In the good graces of our Minifter ? " 
His favorites are but few, and thofe felecl : 
Never was one more nice and circumfpecl. 
" Enough — In all fuch cafes I'm the man 
" To work my way ! In fhort, to crown your plan., 
" You need fome fecond, matter of his art, 
" To acl:, d'ye fee, a fort of under-part. 
" Now what is eafier ? — Do but recommend 
" Your humble fervant to this noble friend ; — 
" And, take my word, the coaft we foon fhould clear, 
" And you 'erelong monopolize his ear." 
Tujh ! matters go not there as you fuppofe ; 
No roof is purer from intrigues like thofe: 
Think not, if fuch or fuch furpafs my f elf 
In wealth or wit, I'm laid upon the Jhelf: 
Each has his place ajfign'd.—" Why, this is new 



78 The Satires. b. i. 

" And pafhng flrange ! " — Yet not more ft range than 

true. 
" Gods ! how you whet my wifhes ! well, I vow, 
" I long to know him more than ever now." 
Affail him then ; the will is all you need j 
With prozvefs fuch as yours, you muft fucceed : 
He's not impregnable ; but (what is worft) 
He knows it> and is therefore Jhy at fir ft. 
" If that's his humour, trull me, I fhall fpare 
te No kind of pains to win admittance there : 
" I'll bribe his porter ; if denied to-day, 
" I'll not defifl, but try fome other way : 
" I'll watch occafions — linger in his fuite, 
" Waylay, falute, huzzah him through the ftreet. 
" Nothing of confequence beneath the fun 
(< Without great labour ever yet was done." 

Thus he proceeded prattling without end, 
When — who mould meet us but my worthy friend, 
Ariflius Fufcus, one who knew the fop 
And all his humours : up he comes — we flop. 
" Whence now, good Sir, and whither bound?" he 
And to like queflions, put in turn, replies. [cries, 
In hopes he'd take the hint and draw me off, 
I twitch his lifllefs fleeve — nod — wink — and cough. 
He, feigning ign'rance what my fignals mean, 
With cruel waggery fmiles : — I burn with fpleen. 

Fufcus (faid I), you mentioned t'other day 
Something particular you wifh'd to fay 
Betwixt ourfelves. — " Perhaps I might: 'tis true: 
" But never mind ; fome other time will do : 
" This is the Jews' grand feafl ; and I fufpedl 
" You'd hardly like to fpurn that holy fed.' 9 
■Nay, for fuch fcruples, 'troth I feel not any. 



s. ix. The Satires. 79 

<c Well, but I do, and, like the vulgar many, 
" Am rather tender in fuch points as thefe : 
" So by and bye of that, Sir, if you pleafe." 
Ah me ! that e'er fo dark a fun mould rife ! 
Away the pitilefs barbarian flies, 
And leaves me baffled, half bereft of life, 
All at the mercy of the ruthlefs knife. 

With hue and cry the plaintiff comes at laft ; 
M Soho there, firrah ! whither now fo fall ? 
" Sir"— he addrefTd me—" You'll bear witnefs 

here?" 
Aye, that I will, quoth I, and turn'd my ear. 
Anon he's dragg'd to court ; on either fide 
Loud fhouts enfue, and uproar lords it wide : 
While I, amid the hurly-burly riot, 
Thanks to Apollo's care ! walk off in quiet. 



SATIRE X. 

YES, I did fay that old Lucilius' fong 
In rough unmeafur'd numbers halts along 
And who fo blindly partial to his verfe, 
That dares to call Lucilius fmooth and terfe? 
Yet that with ridicule's keen gibe he knew 
To lafli the town, I gave him honour due. 
Let then his humorous talent Hand confeft ; 
Still granting this, I mult withhold the reft : 
For, if mere wit all excellence combine, 
The farces of Laberius were divine. 

'Tis not fufficient with broad mirth to win 
The laugh convulfive and diftended grin ; 



80 The Satires. b. i. 

And, though to fet an audience in a roar 
Be fomething, ftill we look for fomething more. 
'Mid other needfuls brevity we place, 
That all your thoughts may flow with eafe and grace ; 
Not wildly rambling, but compact and clear, 
Nor clogg'd with words that load the labouring ear. 
The flyle mull vary too from grave to gay, 
Juft as the varying fubjedl points the way ; 
Now roufe the poet's fire, the fpeaker's art — 
Now Hoop to a£l the humou rift's lighter part, 
Like one who, to give play, retreating cowers, 
And purpofely puts forth but half his powers : 
For oft a fmile beyond a frown prevails, 
And raillery triumphs where invedlive fails. 
In this the earlier comic bards excel, 
In this deferve our imitation well ; — 
Thofe wits whom nor Hermogenes the fair 
Nor that pert jackanapes e'er made his care, 
Who only knows Catullus' ftrains to fing 
And troll foft Calvus to the warbling firing. 
But 'tis alleged, " that old Lucilius fhines 
" In mingling Greek with Latin in his lines." 
Ye puny pedants ! feems it ftrange to you 
What ev'n Pitholeon of Rhodes could do ? — 
" Yet there's a fweetnefs in this blended fpeech 
" Which neither tongue (fay they) apart can reach, 
" Like that rich zeft which nicer taftes difcern 
" In mellow Chian mix'd with rough Falern." 
Talk you of verfe alone ? Or (let me afk) 
Were you engaged in the more arduous tafk 
Of pleading for Petillius, would you fpeak 
A motley brogue, half Latin and half Greek ? 
And, while our Pedius and MefTala toil 



s. x. The Satires. 8i 

In the pure idiom of their native foil, 
Spurning your birthright, would you at the Bar 
Mix terms outlandifh with vernacular, — 
And, like Canufium's amphibious Tons, 
Jabber a brace of languages at once ? 

In early youth, when llrong was my defire 
With Latian hand to fmite the Attic lyre, 
Rome's founder, at the hour when dreams are true, 
Rofe in a viiion to my wondering view : 
" Horace !" — faid he in accents deep and flow, 
" Horace ! the fruitlefs enterprife forego : 
" To fwell the hoft of Grecians were as vain 
" As adding water to the boundlefs main." 
Hence, while Alpinus in bombaftic line 
Lays Memnon low and mars the head of Rhine, 
Thefe fportive lays I fing, ne'er meant to vie 
For ivy crowns 'neath Tarpa's critic eye, 
Nor fraught with ribald mirth or tragic rage 
Night after night to figure on the ftage. 

To paint the lavifh ftripling's crafty girl 
Plotting with Davus to outwit the churl — 
This is a branch of art, Fundanius, known 
Of modern wits to you and you alone, 
Whofe pencil to the prattling fcene can give 
That air of truth which bids the picture live : 
In ftately trimeters proud Pollio fings 
The tragic fates of heroes and of kings : 
Varius in matchlefs numbers full and grand 
Pours his bold epic with a mailer's hand ; 
While every mufe that haunts the fylvan plain 
Breathes grace and elegance in Virgil's ftrain. 
In Satire only, which with fome few more 
Varro had tried (but vainly tried) before, 

G 



82 The Satires. b. i. 

Could I fucceed ; though fure that no fuccefs 
Of mine could make its firft inventor lefs : 
For never from his brows would Horace tear 
The wreath he wears and well deferves to wear. 

'Tis true I faid that like a rapid flood 
He carries in his courfe a train of mud, 
And that his happier lines are few compared 
With thofe loofe ilragglers that might well be fpared. 
And do not you, ye critics ! now and then 
Peck at the foibles ev'n of Homer's pen ? 
Dares not your loved Lucilius to correct 
In older Accius many a grofs defect? 
Of Ennius does he not with laughter fpeak, 
Where'er his verfe is lame — his language weak ? 
Talks he not of himfelf, when felf he names, 
As one fuperior far to thofe he blames ? 
What then forbids us, when we con him o'er, 
To ufe that freedom which he ufed before? — 
Afk if his ruggednefs of numbers feem 
Due to the flov'nly pen or ftubborn theme ? — 
And doubt if patience may not give the (train 
A fmoother flow than that man can attain, 
Who (deeming that his lines, however rough, 
While each contains fix feet, run fmooth enough) 
Scribbles before his fupper twice five fcore, 
And after fupper fcribbles twice five more; — 
Like Tufcan Camus whofe exuberant fong 
Swift as a mountain torrent fweeps along ; 
Of whom fame tells, fo rapid was his ftyle, 
That his own volumes form'd his funeral pile ? 

But grant Lucilius is polite and chafle ; — 
Grant that he took more pains and fhews more tafle 
Than that rude bard who by a lucky hit 



s. x. The Satires. 83 

Firfl dared a path unknown to Grecian wit, 
Or than our older minftrels : — Yet, could fate 
To times more modern have prolong'd his date, 
How would he toil each roughnefs to refine, 
To nerve the weak and point the lagging line ! 
Each crude excrefcence, each redundant fpray, 
As falfe luxuriance, he would prune away, 
Nor amid fancy's wildeft raptures fail 
To fcratch the brow and gnaw the bleeding nail. 

Spare not erailon, ye that wifh your {train, 
When once perufed, to be perufed again ; 
Nor court the mob, — contented if thofe few 
Can praife, whofe judgment fpeaks their praifes true. 
Let others more ambitious joy to fee 
Their works the fchool-boy's talk ! Enough for me 
If Knights applaud, as once with faucy pride 
To hiffing crouds Arbufcula replied. 

What — mall the bug Pantilius move my fpleen ? 
Or mall I fret becaufe unheard, unfeen, 
Demetrius aims his pitiful attack 
And fpurts his venom'd flime behind my back ? 
Shall fneers from Fannius, or his dangling gueii, 
The pert Hermogenes, difturb my reft ? 
No — let Maecenas fmile upon my lays, — 
Let Plotius, Varius, Valgius, Virgil praife, — 
Let Fufcus and the good Odtavius deign 
With either Vifcus to approve the ftrain ; — 
And, far from idle dreams of vulgar fame, 
You, Pollio ! you, MefTala ! let me name, 
Nor lefs your brother ; candid Furnius too, 
And you, my Bibulus ! and Servius ! you : 
Such, with fome others whom I here omit, 
Such are the friends whofe tafte T fain would hit ; 



84 The Satires. b. i. 

Mine be the boaft to win the fmiles of thefe, 

Nor e'er to pleafe them lefs than now I pleafe ! 

But you, Demetrius, and your fhrpid gang — 

I bid you, with Tigellius all go hang 

And fcribbie tafks for fchool-girls ! — Boy, pen down 

Thefe lines, and let them know I fcorn their frowm ! 



END OF THE FIRST BOOK. 



THE SATIRES 

BOOK II. 




THE SATIRES 



BOOK II. 



SATIRE I. 



THERE are — 'tis wondrous, but there are — who 
deem 
All that I write fevere to an extreme : 
While others fwear that in my nervelefs way 
A thoufand verfes might be lpun a-day. 
On you, Trebatius ! for advice I call. — 
Defeft. — What, write no fatire then at all? 
Yea, nothing. — Marry, your advice is good; 
But then I cannot flumber, though I would. — 
Who needeth found repofe, with pliant limb 
Thrice acrofs Tiber 's current let him fwim, 
And quaff, 'ere to the pillow he rejign 
His wearied frame, large draughts of generous wine. 
But, if impelVd by love of verfe, you needs 
Muft write, record great Ctefar's matchlefs deeds : 
There frowns no Jlander, there no dangers lurk s 
The hero's fmile fball crown the poet's work. 

To paint fuch fcenes and paint them as they are, 
To roll in verfe the thunder of the war, 
To fing the briftling fcmadron's proud array, 



88 The Satires. b. ii. 

The clam of armour and the battle's bray, 
The javelin quiv'ring in the Gaul's pale corfe, 
The flricken Parthian fainting from his horfe, — 
Such themes, good Sir ! demand a mailer's fkill ; 
To me the power is wanting, not the will. 

Might you not paint him generous, juft, and J "age , 
As Scipio Jhines in fair Lucilius' page? 

When time and place and circumftance mail feem 
Aufpicious, pleafed I'll court the glorious theme : 
But till fome lucky hour of leifure, ne'er 
Shall Horace force his praife on Caefar's ear : 
Who, like a fteed, when coax'd without addrefs, 
Prefents his hoof and fpurns the rude carefs. 

'Twere better thus, than lajh in grofs lampoon 
c Cafftus the fot and Manlius the buffoon:' 
When, though untouch d, each dreads you as a foe, 
And hates the' affailant 'ere he feels the blow. 

What can I do ? when the warm fumes arife, 
And doubling flambeaux fwim before his eyes, 
Milonius dances : Caftor loves to quell 
The prancing fteed ; Sprung from the felf-fame fhell, 
His brother round his fift the Caeftus binds : 
As many men, fo many are their minds. 
My whim is verfe : Lucilius I purfue, 
One greater (pardon me) than me or you. 
Each fecret of his foul he frankly penn'd, 
And made his book his confidential friend ; 
Whate'er befel, did Fortune fmile or frown, 
Thither he flew and there he ftamp'd it down : 
Hence in the old man's prattling page we find 
A full-length picture of his life and mind. 
Him then I follow, — in purfuits like thefe 
Delighted follow, — call me what you pleafe — ■ 



s. i. The Satires. 89 

Half of Lucanian, half Apulian growth, 
For we Venufians border upon both, — 
Sent thither, when the Samnite fled (they fay) 
To flop the gap and keep the foe at bay, 
Left either nation, uncontrouPd by fpies, 
Should take the flumbering Roman by furprife. 

Yet never, truft me, fhall this pen be found 
To deal one wanton or malicious wound ; 
No — 'till fome ruffian's rage my path molefts, 
Safe as a fword within its fheath it refts. 
And would to heaven this weapon which I wear 
With everlafting ruft might canker there ! 
For, could my wifhes move the Powers above, 
Ne'er ihould they roufe me from the peace I love. 
But he that touches me, (hands off! I cry, — 
Avaunt, and at your peril come not nigh !) 
Shall for his pains be chaunted up and down, 
The jeft and bye word of a chuckling Town. 

Each wields in felf-defence his proper arms : 
Provoke Canidia, — fhe has herbs and charms : 
Cervius, to ftrike the foe with wholefome awe, 
Prefents his writ and fulminates in law : 
While Turius, if he owe you fome fmall grudge, 
Swears you'll be trounced if tried where he is judge. 
To all by Nature's boon fome means belong 
Of quelling outrage and retorting wrong. 
The wolf with teeth, with horns the bull contends ; 
Why, but becaufe fo fovereign inftinct bends ? 
Truft Scaeva's long-lived mother to his care, — 
The wealthy crone to the impatient heir ; 
Such is his filial love, his felf-command, 
No deed of blood fhall ftain his pious hand. 
Wond'rous ! as if it were a common fight 



90 The Satires. b. ii. 

For wolves to lift their heels or bulls to bite ! 
'Tis true, no blood fhall tender Scaeva fpill ; 
But Scaeva knows the virtues of a Pill. 

Whether, in fine, life's long-protracted day 
Shall fee me calmly fink in flow decay ; 
Or whether, deftined to an early tomb, 
Death waves around my path his ebon plume ; 
In wealth, in poverty ; at Rome, or fent 
(If fuch my lot) to fome lorn banifhment ; 
Whate'er may prove the hue of life, yet Hill, 
While life continues, write I mult and will. 

Thy days, my fon, I fear, will foon be fped y 
Some patron's withering frown Jball freeze tbee dead. 

What — when Lucilius in Rome's earlier day 
Firft boldly launch'd in Satire's thorny way, 
And, ftripping Reynard of his gaudy fkin, 
Unmafk'd the fop and bared the fool within, 
Did he demur who built his well-earn'd fame 
On Afric's ruins ? or did Laelius blame ? 
Metellus juftly fcourged did they refent, 
Or Lupus with thofe damning truths befprent? 
No — governors and govern'd, great and fmall, 
He worried to and fro, and fnapp'd at all : — 
All but the good, to thofe and thofe alone 
Gave quarter, and made Virtue's friends his own. 
Yet oft with him, retired from crouds and noife 
To fire-fide quiet and domeftic joys, 
This famed for wifdom — that for Carthage fpoil'd 
Would j eft and trifle while their porridge boil'd; — 
In eafy frolics all the foul unbend, 
And fink the fage and hero in the friend. 
Whate'er I be, howe'er I mufl fubmit 
To my precurfor both in wealth and wit, 



s. i. The Satires. 91 

Yet that the great approve me and carefs 
Reluctant Envy mutt herfelf confefs ; 
And the ftern fluff, which with envenom'd fpite 
She thinks to nibble, fhall refill: her bite. 
What fays Trebatius learned in the law ? 
Thus far your cafe is clear ; I fpy no flaw. 
Yet have a care ! 'ere trouble come, 'twere fit 
• You mark betimes the ftatute' '/ text ; to wit — 
If A have libeWd B in wicked ftrains, 
An aclion lies — Hear what the law ordains ! 

Wicked! But what if it be underftood 
That Caefar's judgment flamps the verfes good? 
And what if one, himfelf of unfoil'd fame, 
Step forth to brand the frontlefs fool with fhame ? 

Nay, then the bufinefs will be turned to fport, 
The bill thrown out, and you difcharged the court. 



SATIRE II. 

LEARN what delights fpare diet can afford, 
The thoufand virtues of a frugal board ! — 
(Thefe precepts, reader ! from a peafant flow, 
Not me : Ofellus taught them long ago, 
One rich in unfophifticated fenfe, 
Whofe book was life, whofe fchool experience) 
Learn this, my friends ! — but not amid the ftate 
Of lordly chargers and of dazzling plate ; — 
Not where the table, richly fraught, difplays 
A radiance that appals the trembling gaze ; — 
Not when grofs fenfe holds reafon in controul, 
And clogs with prejudice the finking foul : 



92 The Satires. b. ii. 

But weigh it failing, while the brain is clear : — 
Why fo ? you afk. — Have patience ; you fhall hear. 

Ill fitted is the judge, whom bribes affail, 
To balance juilice with an even fcale. 
Go, chafe the timorous hare o'er hill and plain ; 
Teach the wild colt to curvet to the rein : 
Or, if perchance you fhrink from Roman fports, 
Train'd to the fofter games which Greece imports, — 
Each joint well fuppled with gymnaflic oil 
(While pleafure fweetly fmooths the brow of toil) 
Speed the fwift ball, or hurl with wary eye 
The ponderous quoit athwart the yielding iky ; 
When of fuch exercife fome hours have ilrung 
Your fqueamifh appetite and parch'd your tongue, 
Loath, if you can, our homely fare, and fpurn 
All but Hyblean fweets in rough Falern. 

Suppofe your larder lock'd — no futtler nigh, 
While roaring waves protecl the finny fry : 
What then ? a cruil of bread with fait befprent 
The blatant appetite fhall well content. 
Why but becaufe the reliih of the treat 
Lies in the mailer more than in the meat ? 
Make hunger then your fauce — let toil procure 
A zeil, and be the genuine epicure : 
Since char nor ortolans can e'er excite 
The pamper'd iluggard's iickly appetite. 

Yet after all you'll hardly deign, I fear, 
To dine on pullet when a peacock's near ; 
By vain caprice or empty fhow cajoled ; 
Becaufe forfooth the fcarce bird fells for gold, 
And ilrutting forth elate with beauty frail 
Expands the gaudy glories of his tail. 
But do you eat that plumage you adore ? 



s. ii. The Satires. 93 

Or is he, cook'd, as beauteous as before ? 
Since you prefer it, then, yet know not why, 
'Tis plain your tafte takes counfel from your eye. 

But whence is that more nice difcernment taught 
That tells at once where yon fea- wolf was caught, — 
If at the mouth or 'twixt the bridges caft 
Or in the open feas he gafped his laft ? 
A mullet of three pounds is called a treat, 
And yet you chop it piece-meal 'ere you eat. 
Then why, poor flave of prejudice ! defpife 
The larger pikes, if tafte depend on fize ? 
Is it becaufe dame nature wife in all 
Has made the latter great — the former fmall? 
Give me> fome gourmand cries, 'tis all I wijb, 
A huge furmullet ftretcb'd on a huge dijh ! 
Propitious South winds, fend your choaking blaft, 
Breathe putrefaction on the foul repaft, 
And taint it to their heart's defire ! — nay, fpare 
Your aid, fince nature has vouchfafed my prayer ; 
Which to the queafy ftomach overfill'd 
Bids boar and turbot ftink though newly kill'd. 
Sour elicampane is their next refource, 
And pickles brace them for another courfe. 
Well, thanks to heaven, iimplicity has yet 
Some favour 'mid the banquets of the great: 
Ev'n pamper'd luxury ftoops to lowly fare, 
And eggs and tawny olives ftill are there. 

Look back a few fhort years, and you mall fee 
The cryer Gallonius ftamp'd with infamy 
For having fturgeon at his board. But how — 
Were turbots rarer in the feas than now ? 
No — -but the turbot in thofe feas had reft, 
And fafe the ftork might {lumber in her neft, 



94 The Satires. b. ii. 

Until Praetorian wifdom gave the word, 
And Fafhion flamp'd her fanclion on the bird. 
And fo, fhould now her edict but declare 
That roafted fea-gulls are delicious fare, 
No doubt but we fhould fee all Rome obey, 
Prompt to purfue where folly leads the way. 

A difference lies (Ofellus thinks) between 
A frugal ftyle of living and a mean : 
For 'tis in vain that this extreme we fliun, 
If to its oppofite we headlong run. 
Avidienus, for his avarice ftyled 
The cur, feeds daily upon cornels wild 
And olives five years old ;— takes care to pour 
Libations only when his wine is four : — 
And ev'n upon the day of feftive mirth 
That celebrates his wedding or his birth, 
Rank oil, whofe fcent no common nofe can bear, 
Upon his cole-worts with religious care 
He ilowly dribbles from a ftraight-moutfi'd jar, — 
Then drenches them with floods of vinegar. 

Which path of conduct fhall the wife purfue ? 
And which of thefe two models keep in view ? — 
What fays the proverb ? — He is Jure to err 
Who to efcape the wolf muft meet the cur. 
The happy mean is his, whofe board o'erflows 
With plenty, yet no vain pronation mows : 
Whofe frugal elegance delights his friends, 
While no pomp dazzles and no dirt offends : 
Who gives his orders with a cheerful eafe 
That, while it pleafes, fhows no toil to pleafe : 
Unlike Albutius, who with dull parade 
Summon'd his llaves before the cloth was laid, 
To each and all their feveral functions plann'd, 



s. ii. The Satires. 95 

And charged them what toferve and where to Hand : — 

Nor, Naevius-like, fo exquiiitely eafy 

That ev'n the water for your hands was greafy. 

Hear now what joys from temperate diet flow : 
Imprimis, Health, that firft of joys below. 
For think, when on fome fimple dim you dined, 
How light the heart, how buoyant was the mind ! 
But when a courfe of boil'd and roaft is run, — 
And fifh, flefh, fowl, et ccetera, mix in one, — 
To phlegm and bile the meats fermenting pafs 
And the cloy'd ftomach loaths the' incongruous mafs. 
See with what death-like palenefs in his face 
The pamper'd glutton heaves him from his place ! 
Befides, the body clogg'd with crude excefs, 
Which fumes of yeflernight's debauch opprefs, 
Forbids the glowing fpirit to afpire 
And chains to earth the fpark of heavenly fire. 
The other from his fhort light fupper goes, 
And, fnatching a few hours of found repofe, 
Springs up betimes with fpirits blithe and gay 
To do the well-plann'd bufinefs of the day. 
Yet will he pafs to more enlivening cheer 
At feafons, whether the revolving year 
Bring back the feftive hour, or nature claim 
Some extras to recruit a weaken'd frame ! 
Or when grey hairs and tottering Heps demand 
Benigner treatment and a gentler hand. 
But how can you relax, who 'ere your time 
Grafp each indulgence in youth's vigorous prime ? 
How cheer the bed of iicknefs ? how affuage 
The drowfy languors of decrepid age ? 

Our fathers held rank boar in high efleem : 
Not that they had no nofes ; — but I deem 



g6 The Satires. b. ii. 

It ftruck them as more decent that the gueft, 
Whom chance might bring, mould mare the tainted 
Than that the owner by himfelf mould eat [feaft, 
The whole, a felfifti glutton, frefh and fweet. 
Oh golden period ! would that new-born earth 
'Mid that heroic race had given me birth ! 

Beildes, does fame of any worth appear, 
That fweetefl muiic to a mortal ear ? 
Know that great turbots, with ragouts and fauces, 
Engender great difcredit and great lories. 
Add to all this a guardian's angry frown, 
The world's contempt and (what is worfe) your 

own; — 
The felf-rep roving mind's internal ftrife, 
With ilrong — but vain — defires of quitting life, 
When not one penny of your fquander'd pelf 
Remains to buy a rope and hang yourfelf. 

Thefe hints (fays one) to Traufeus may apply / 
He may with juftice fear expenfe, — not I, 
Whofe wide eft ate an ample income brings 
And revenues fufficient for three kings. 
And is there then, I afk, no other end 
On which the furplus thou might'ft nobly fpend ? 
Say, why does merit ftarve in rags ? or fay, 
Why fall our ancient temples to decay ? 
Why not from thofe fuperfluous hoards bellow 
A mite to foothe thy burthen'd country's woe ? 
Shalt thou alone feel no reverfe ? ihalt thou 
Thrive on for ever as thou thrivefr. now ? 
Poor child of fcorn ! fay which with better grace 
May dare to look pert Fortune in the face — 
The man that Hill in luxury's lap reclined 
Pampers his body and unnerves his mind — 



s. ii. The Satires. 97 

Or he that, with a little well content 
And of his future comforts provident, 
Like a wife chief is cautious to prepare 
In time of peace the requifites for war ? 

To ftamp thefe precepts, hear what I mall tell : 
I knew Ofellus, when a boy, full well ; — 
Knew him pofleft of the fame frugal mind 
Then when he throve, as fince when he declined. 
Still on thofe acres, once his own eftate, 
Hard at his work and patient of his fate, 
The flurdy fwain is feen with hoary locks 
EncompafFd by his children and his flocks. 
My rule was never to exceed (he fays) 
My greens and fmoke-dried flitch on common days : 
And even if the friend I held moil dear 
Knock'd at my gate, unfeen for many a year, — 
Or if a neighbour on fome rainy day 
Dropt in to chat a leifure hour away, 
We pledged it not o'er dainties fetch'd from town, 
But the fat kid and barn-door fowl went down. 
The cloth removed, grapes which myfelf had dried, 
With figs and nuts, a plain defert fupplied : 
And, as around the jocund grace-cup went, 
Fill was the word and fhame the prefident : 
While Ceres worfhipp'd with libations due — 
(So might fhe flill the full-ear'd crop renew !) 
Bade us from toil a pleafing refpite mare 
And fmootfTd awhile the wrinkled brow of care. 

Let Fortune rave and wanton as fhe lift, — 
From fuch a life how little can be mifT'd ! 
Say, are our looks lefs blithfome or our frame 
Lefs flout, my boys, fince this new ftr anger came ? 
For view'd as property, the land, my fons, 

H 



98 The Satires. b. ii, 

Is neither his, nor mine, nor any one's. 
He turn'd me out ; and him his own excefs 
Or the law's quirks fhall ihortly difpoffefs : 
At belt, Hern Death's ejectment, foon or late, 
Shall prove thefe acres but a life-eftate. 
Umbrenus' name the farm at prefent bears ; 
'Twas lately mine, and fhall be foon his heir's : 
Now this, now that may fow the ground and till ; 
But all alike are tenants but at will. 
Bear up then, Boys ! and flem the adverfe tide, 
Patience your flay and providence your guide ! 



SATIRE III. 

In the form of a Dialogue between Horace and 
Damafppus. 

SO feldom now you court the Mufe, I hear, 
You call for parchment fcarcely thrice a year ; 
On dull revifal while you wafle your pow'rs, 
And, fleep or wine engroffing all your hours, 
Vex'd with yourfelf you peevifhly complain 
That you can hammer out no living ftrain. 
How now ! from Saturn's revels you withdrew, 
As one refolved to carol fomething new. 
Here then, all fober, keep your promife ; come, 
Begin, compofe — Alas ! you flill are dumb. 
In vain you curfe the pen, and in a rage 
Pour your refentment on the lucklefs page. 
Poor innocents ! regardlefs of their worth 
Sure Gods and Poets frown'd upon their birth. 



s. in. The Satires. 99 

Methought your looks befpoke Tome wondrous feat 

If e'er you reach'd your villa's fnug retreat. 

Why elfe, as if to' indulge a fludious fit, 

Heap Plato's wifdom on Menander's wit ? 

Why take Archilochus, a goodly load, 

With Eupolis, companions on the road ? 

Think you the wrath of envy to appeafe, 

By quitting virtue for inglorious eafe ? 

Poor wretch ! contempt awaits you. Scorn the fmiles 

Of Siren Sloth and her infidious wiles, — 

Or tamely forfeit all your claim to praife, 

The meed of toil and fruits of better days. 

IT Your counfel, Damafippus, I mult own, 
Is juft : And for the wifdom you have mown 
Heaven fend you a good barber ! — But pray tell, 
How wift you me and my concerns fo well ? 

51 Learn, fince the Forum faw by fad neglecl 
My fortunes all on Ufury's quickfands wreck'd, 
From that time forward I devote my cares 
(Reft of my own) to other men's affairs. 
For late my fole ambition was to' amafs 
Not current gold, but rare Corinthian brafs ; 
Proud if I chanced with fome old vafe to meet 
In which fly Sifyphus had bathed his feet. 
Oft I pronounced in all the pride of tafle 
This rudely fculptured and that coarfely caft; 
Would name the price with connoifTeur-like air 
To here a bujlo, a relievo there ; 
Or cheapen'd manfions, parks, and pleafure-grounds, 
And many bargains bought for many pounds. 
The auction-hunters, when they met me, fmiled 
And pointing cried — See Mercury's favour'd child ! 

If I know the mania you fo long endured, 



ioo The Satires. b. ii. 

And wonder by what procefs you were cured. 
H The old diltemper to a new gave place ; 
And this, you know, is no uncommon cafe : 
One patient finds his pleurify depart 
Or head -ache, but to fettle at the heart ; 
That, cured of lethargy, turns pugilift 
And at the frighten'd doctor darts his fill. 
fl Go to, pray Heaven your frenzy be not fuch ! 
<[[ Softly, good iir ! prefume not quite fo much : 
For if there's truth in wife Stertinius' rules, 
You and the world are madmen all and fools. 
From his pure lips with wondrous wifdom fraught 
My eager ear fome golden precepts caught, 
What time my guardian genius he appear'd, 
Bade me to nurfe this fapient length of beard, 
From the Fabrician bridge my Heps withdrew. 
And open'd fcenes of comfort to my view. 
Wild in defpair, with muffled head I ftood 
Prepared to plunge into the roaring flood, 
When up he came in time of greater! need, 
And " Hold ! " he cried, " forbear the dreadful deed : 
Emancipate thy mind from this falfe fhame, 
Nor fhrink 'midft madmen from a madman's name, 
For be it firfl inquired, to make all plain, 
What madnefs is, and who are the infane. 
If this be found in you and none befide, 
I'm dumb — go, perifh nobly in the tide ! 
The man whom ignorance warps and paffions blind, 
Him have Chryfippus and the Porch defined 
A madman. Mark, the rule embraces you, 
Kings, Commons, all — except the favour'd few. 
Hear now why thofe who proudly call you mad, 
In reafon's view are every whit as bad. 



s. in. The Satires. ioi 

As, when bewilder'd in a wood by night 
This traveler takes the left and that the right, 
Each ftrays, though in a different path he {trays, 
Mock'd by the feif-fame error various ways, — 
So is it here ; and he that laughs at you 
May wear the cap ; for he is crack-brain'd too. 

See Mania in a thoufand forms appear ! 
One fears where there exifts no caufe for fear, 
And in an open field complains he fees 
His path oppofed by rivers, rocks, and trees. 
Another maniac of a different turn 
Will rufh where torrents roll and ^Etnas burn. 
Warn'd by a mother's, fitter's, confort's care — 
Here yawns a gulf , here frowns a rock i beware! 
He's deaf as drunken Fufius in the play 
Who fnored the part of flumbering Hecuba, 
While, back'd by thoufands, Polydorus bawls — 
Awake, dear mother ! 'tis tby Jon that calls. 

Alike to wifdom's eye through all mankind 
Prevails fome flrange obliquity of mind. 
With his hftfous poor Damafippus buys 
Statues and bulls — and here his madnefs lies. 
But is his creditor of mind quite found 
Whofe loans return him flxpence in the pound ? 
Suppofe one fays, €( Take this nor e'er repay ; " 
Are you forfooth a madman who obey? 
Call him the madman rather, who pretends 
To fpurn the prize propitious Mercury fends. 

Ten drawn on Nerius ; fign the loan with fpeed : 
Tis not enough — down with the bond and deed : 
A thoufand parchments let Cicuta draw, 
Skill'd to tie fail each knotty noofe of law. 
Though chains of adamant the wretch enthrall, 



102 The Satires. b. ii. 

This curfed Proteus-debtor burfts them all ; 
Laughs in his fleeve when dragg'd to court, and fee — 
He turns at will to bear, bird, rock, or tree I 
No more — if to o'erftep felf-inter eft's bound 
Be mad, while caution proves the realbn found, 
Strong in his breail the flames of frenzy burn 
Who lends his money never to return. 

Hafle and adjufl the mantle's decent fold, 
All ye that madden with the thirft of gold, — 
Whofe bofoms kindle with ambition's fires, — 
Whofe blood ferments with lechery's wild defires, — 
Whom fuperftition's flavifh fear molefts, — 
In fhort, whatever frenfy rack your breafts, 
Approach in ranks, be patient if you can, 
And hear me prove you maniacs to a man ! 

The mifer firft : none wants a keeper more 
Or afks a flronger dofe of hellebore. 
By wifdom's rules I know not if to fiich 
A whole Anticyra's produce were too much. 
Staberius will'd, to make his riches known, 
Their fum ihould be engraved upon his itone : 
His heirs, in cafe of failure, to engage 
Two hundred champions for the public ftage, 
Befides a one-year's Libyan crop of grain, 
With fuch a feafl as Arrius Ihould ordain. 
Whether I form' d my judgment well or ill, 
Such was my pleafure s who dare thwart my will? 
Such haply was the plea which weigh'd with him. 
But would you learn the motive for this whim ? 
'Twas this : He thought no fin like being poor ; 
Through all his life he dreaded nothing more ; 
And would no doubt have blufh'd for his excefs, 
If he had died worth but one farthing lefs. 



s. in. The Satires. 103 

All things in his efteem — fame, virtue, health, 
Human and heavenly — bow to bleffed wealth : 
He that is rich, in every trade has fkill, — 
Is brave, juft, wife, aye monarch, what you will. 
Such was his creed ; with him the road to praife 
Was wealth, and therefore wealth he ftrove to raife. 

How different, Ariftippus ! your commands, 
When with your flaves you traverfed Afric's fands ! 
Finding their freight of gold begat delay, 
You bade them fling the cumbrous ore away. 
Which was the greater madman ? fome will afk : 
The problem is a nice, but needlefs tafk : 
Extremes but puzzle the difpute ; for who 
Can hope to folve old doubts by ftarting new ? 

If one devoid of ear or tafte mould buy 
A hundred harps and pile them up on high ; 
Or treafure many a lafl and paring-knife, 
Who never botch'd a (hoe in all his life ; 
Or fails, who took in failing no delight ; — 
The world would flamp him mad, and well they might. 
Now point me out the difference, if you can, 
Between thefe downright maniacs and the man 
Who heaps, but dares not ufe, his darling ore, 
And deems it facrilege to touch the ftore. 
If near a heap of corn one takes his ftand, 
Couch'd like a watchful dragon, club in hand, 
Yet feeding upon bitter herbs is fain 
Sooner to ftarve than touch a fmgle grain ; — ■ 
If old Falern and Chian fifty tier — 
Nay fifty thoufand — in his vaults appear, 
Yet loath to violate a Angle jar 
He fips the dregs of ropy vinegar; — 
If in his eightieth year, when nature's law 



104 The Satires. b. ii. 

Indulgence claims, he feeks his bed of ftraw, 
Though rich in fumptuous quilts, which left a prey 
To moths and worms within his cherts decay : — 
Perhaps he's thought a madman but by few : 
Why but becaufe the reft are madmen too ? 
Go, gracelefs dotard ! watch thy hoarded wine, 
That fome fly freedman or wild fon of thine, 
When thy old bones are mouldering in the grave, 
May drink it out and laugh at him that gave ! 

'Tis pen'ry that I fear, methinks you fay : 
Go, count how trifling were the charge per day 
Upon your herbs fome fweeter oil to flied 
And give fome unguents to that fqualid head. 
If fuch a pittance can your wants fupply, 
Why, madman ! break your oath and cheat and lie ? 
Should you begin the pairing crowd to ftone 
And kill the flaves by purchafe made your own, 
The very rabble whom you chanced to meet 
Would hoot you for a madman through the ftreet. 
And are you fane forfooth, who hang your wife 
And drug the bowl againft a mother's life ? 
What though the deed was not at Argos done? 
What though you ne'er, like Clytemneftra's fon, 
Applied the poniard ? — Idle pleas and vain ! 
Think you 'twas matricide firft turn'd his brain ? 
Or that his foul was not with fiends pofTeft 
Long 'ere his fword had pierced a mother's breaft ? 
We hear not that Oreftes from the time 
They deem'd him mad, dared any heinous crime. 
Againft Eleclra did he e'er offend, 
Or lift the fword againft his faithful friend ? 
No — her he only as a fiend addreft, 
And him what wild delirium might fuggeft. 



s. in. The Satires. 105 

Opimius, poor amid his hoarded coin, 
Who quaff 'd on common days the lees of wine, 
And thought it much on feftivals to fhare 
Small Veian tiff from cheap Campanian ware, 
So deep a lethargy once chanced to feize 
That his glad heir arTaiPd the cheils and keys. 
The doctor, an expert and fkilful man, 
To roufe his patient tried the following plan : 
Large bags of gold were emptied on the floor, 
And friends employ'd to come and count it o'er. 
All things prepar'd, he raifed the rick man's head, 
And pointing where the glittering heaps were fpread, 
" Arife," he cried ; " your greedy heir will take 
" All your effects, unlefs you watch and wake. 
" Look, they commence their plunder even now ! " — 
What ''ere I die ! " Then wake and live." — But how f 
" Your fainting flomach needs fome ftrength'ning 

food ; 
" Take this Elixir — come, 'twill do you good. " 
Fir ft tell me what it coft? — " The price is fmall." 
How much, I ajk ? — " One milling ; that is all." 
A Jhilling ! f death, if ruin muft enfue, 
What matter if by theft, difeafe, or you ? 

'Who then is fane ? The man from folly free. 
And what's the mifer ? none fo mad as he. 
If not a mifer, am I ftraightway fane ? 
Far from it, — Why, great ftoic? — I'll explain. 
Craterus declares his patient free from gout : 
Is he then hearty ? can he walk about ? 
No, he will anfwer ; for there yet remains 
A marp diftemper in the fide and reins. 
You neither cheat nor hoard ; {o far you ihine : 
Slay to your favouring Houfehold-gods a fwine ! 



io6 The Satires. b. ii- 

But do you thirft for place and power ? — Away, 
Steer for Anticyra without delay : 
For whether to the mob you fling your pelf 
Or hoard it, where's the difference to yourfelf ? 

Oppidius of Canufium, his eftate 
(A large one, reckoning by the antique rate) 
Between two fons refolving to divide, 
Summon'd and thus addreft them 'ere he died. 
" Long fince, my children, when ye both were boys, 
" I mark'd the different treatment of your toys. 
fi Yours, Aulus ! fcatter'd and neglected lay, 
" Were often giv'n and fometimes thrown away : 
" While you, Tiberius ! of feverer mood 
" Counted and hid them up where'er you could. 
" Obferving this I fear'd — nay, ftill I fear — 
" Left various frenfies mould in both appear : 
" Left you the vile example mould purfue 
" Of Nomentanus — of Cicuta you. 
" Conjured, then, by our Houfehold-gods, beware, 
" As ye regard a dying father's prayer, 
" You of enlarging, you of making lefs — 
" By fordid avarice or by wild excefs — 
" What feems fumcient in your father's eyes, 
" What fenfe approves and nature juftiiies. 
" But, left ambition lure you to the great, 
" Hear on what terms I leave you my eftate : 
" Whichever of the twain is JEd'ile rlrft 
' c Or Prastor, be he outlaw'd and accurft ! " 

Vainglorious fool, thus to confume thy means 
In fcattering largefles of peas and beans, 
All for a brazen buft and gaudy train, 
Stripp'd of thy houfe, thy chattels, and domain, — 
Thinking forfooth Agrippa's praife to win, 



s. in. The Satires. 107 

A would-be lion, though an afs within ! 

Whence Agamemnon does this order fpring 
That Ajax lie untomb'd ? — Obey your king ! 
Enough; I'm but your fubjec~l; and fubmit. 
Nay, more — we think our edicl juft and fit : 
Yet, if there be to whom it fe ems fever e, 
Let him allege his reafons ; we will hear. 
Great Chief, may heaven vouchfafe thee to deftroy 
And quit in fafety the proud walls of Troy ! 
Fain would I put fome queftions, if I may, 
With leave to anfwer. — Say what thou would' 'ft fay. 
Why does brave Ajax, who for Greece has won 
Such laurels, fecond but to Peleus' fon, 
Rot uninterr'd ? what triumph will it be 
To Priam and his people, when they fee 
That hero robb'd of funeral rites, by whom 
So many youth of theirs have loft a tomb ! 
Upon our flocks with frantic rage he flew, 
And dealing f aught er thought 'twas us he flew. 
Here fell my f elf — here lay UlyJJes gored — 
There Menelaus reek'd beneath his fword. 
When you at Aulis to the altar led 
Iphigenia in a heifer's ftead, 
Sprinkled upon her brow the faked meal, 
And to her throat applied the ruthlefs fteel, 
What fhall we fay ? Was he with frenfy wild, 
And are you fane who facrifice your child ? 
But after all what harm did Ajax do ? 
He kill'd the fheep and oxen, it is true : 
He curfed the two Atridas ; but his wife 
And fon — he would not hurt them for his life. 
He fpared his Teucer ; and his deadlieft foe 
Felt but in effigy the vengeful blow. 



io8 The Satires. b. ii. 

/, when Diana's wrath? as Calchas /wore, 
Detained our barks upon the Grecian Jhore, 
To gain a pajflage through the ft or my flood, 
Strove wifely to propitiate Heaven with blood. 
Aye, whole, rafh madman ! but thine own ? reply. 
My own, I grant ; — as madman, I deny. 
He to whofe view bewildering paffion flings 
Falfe colours and diftorts the form of things, 
(Whether from rage or folly, 'tis the fame) 
Is frantic, and deferves a madman's name. 
Was Ajax mad, who what he did fcarce knew, 
And in his mood the harmlefs cattle flew ? 
And, when for empty title's fake you fin, 
Bafely deliberate, is all found within ? 
Does no infanenefs in that breafl refide 
Which pants for fovereignty and fwells with pride ? 
What if fome wight fhould take it in his head 
To pet a lambkin in a daughter's Head, — 
Trinkets, fine clothes, and tiring-maids provide, 
And defiine her fome noble lordling's bride ; — 
Straight his incompetence the law declares 
And names truflees to manage his affairs. 
Reverfe the piclure now, and fay that one 
Slays for a lamb his child, as you have done : 
What fhall we call it ? — Madnefs, to be fure, 
And fiich a madnefs as admits no cure. 
For truft this maxim : In whatever mind 
Reigns folly, there too madnefs fits enfhrined. 
Frenfy and vice are in effedt the fame ; 
And whofo fondly hunts the bubble fame, 
Him have ten thoufand furies captive led 
And grim Bellona thunder'd round his head. 
Now turn your eye to the voluptuous race ; 



s. in. The Satires. 109 

Give Luxury and Nomentanus chafe ; 
And mark if fcann'd by reafon's fober rule 
The fpendthrift be not mad, the rake a fool. 
Yon ftripling, having dropp'd the filial tear, 
Steps into fome ten thoufand pounds a year. 
What does he firfl ? — He puts his edict out, 
That fimmongers and fruiterers, coute-qui-coute, — 
That all who vend perfumes, choice birds, choice 

meat, 
With all the riff-raff of the Tufcan ftreet, 
Buffoons, pimps, poulterers, to his hall repair. 
And what enfued, when they affembled there ? 
Silence proclaim'd, amid the full divan, 
The Pimp arofe, and riling thus began : 
" Whate'er belongs to me — whate'er to thefe — 
" Is yours to-day, to-morrow, when you pleafe." 
Then did the youth thus gracioufly reply : 
" Friends, you provide me all that gold can buy; 
" You booted hunt the midnight foreft o'er, 
" That I may fup on a delicious boar : 
" You fwoop the fifhes from the wintry fea, 
" And of your perils bring the fruits to me : 
" I neither need nor merit this vaft ftore ; 
" Here take this hundred — you this hundred more. 
" A trifle mare to you, dear fir, muft fall 
" Whofe fpoufe at midnight liftens to my call." 

iEfopus' fon drew from Metella's ear 
That pearl for which he erft had paid fo dear, 
And in a vinegar folution quaff'd 
A cool ten-thoufand pieces at one draught. 
Could he have fhown a mind more pail all cure, 
Had he confign'd it to the public few'r ? 

The fons of Arrius too a jovial pair, 



no The Satires. b. ii. 

Refolved on dainties no expence to fpare, 
Twins in debauch, frivolity, and vice, 
Luncheon'd on nightingales of monftrous price. 
How mall we mark all fuch ? with blackening coal, 
As fools and mad — or chalk them found and whole r 

To yoke a team of mice, build huts of fod, 
Ride on a fwitch, and play at ev'n-and-odd, — 
All this if one mould do with bearded chin, 
Few would deny that madnefs lurk'd within. 
Say now — if fober argument mail prove 
Thefe freaks not half fo childifh as to love, 
(No matter whether on the play-ground roll'd 
You gambol as you did when four years old, 
Or for a jilt with foolifh tremors quake 
And whine and whimper for a harlot's fake) 
Would you, like Polemo reclaim'd, lay by 
Each tell-tale badge of the mind's malady ? 
And, as he reeking from debauch, 'tis faid, 
Drew one by one the garlands from his head, 
Stung by the fober fage's keen rebuff, 
Would you too doff the tippet, fwathe, and muff? 

Offer the way-ward child a plum ; 'tis ftili 
/ wont : withhold it, and he cries, / will. 
And is the doating lover lefs a child, 
Who ponders, from his miitrefs' gate exiled, 
Whether to go or not, where he were fure 
To go uncall'd, nor quits the hated door ? 
What, fighs the youth; — and can I JIM refit fe 
When of her f elf Jbe fends for me and fues? 
Or fhall I boldly clofe at once my pain P 
She Jhut me out—jhejummons me again : 
And can I after this return ? oh no, 
Not though Jhe beg me on her knees to go I 



s. in. The Satires. hi 

Now hear the flave, how well the truth he hits ; 
" Mailer, that thing which in itfelf admits 
" Nor mean nor method, we attempt in vain 
" By method and by counfel to reflrain. 
" In Love are all thefe ills — alternate wars 
" And peace, fufpicions, jealoufies, and jars : 
" Thefe random fits, thefe ever-flitting forms, 
" Vague and inconflant as the winds and florins, 
" Who thinks to moderate, were no lefs a fool 
" Than he that mould attempt to rave by rule." 

What — are his intellects correct and clear, 
Who, picking out the kernels of a pear, 
Hails it an omen of fuccefs in love, 
If chance one hit the ceiling's height above ? 
When, bent with years, you clip each tender word, 
Art fane ? or whether were it more abfurd 
With that bald pate to ape an amorous itch 
And lifp out love, — or ride upon a fwitch ? 

Nor is this all : Hence darker evils flow, 
And what began in folly, ends in woe : 
Oft has fufpicion the fond bofom gored 
And temper'd at love's flame the vengeful fword. 
When Marius plunged the knife in Hellas' bread, 
Then leap'd down headlong, was he not pofleft ? 
Or elfe acquitted of diforder'd fenfe, 
Shall he be guilty found of fin prepenfe ? 
Say 'twas in malice or in madnefs done, 
The terms are tantamount — the thing is one. 

I knew a freedman once, advanced in age, 
Who went, by way of morning pilgrimage, 
With clean-wafh'd hands to run from ftreet to ftreet, 
Bow'd to each flatue that he chanced to meet, 
And paying in due form his vows, would cry — 



ii2 The Satires. b. ii. 

Grant me, ye gods all-powerful, ne^er to die ! 
This fellow one might warrant wind and limb, 
Not thick of hearing nor of eye -Ugh t dim : 
His brain no mailer but an errant knave 
Would fcruple to except, if fold a Have. 
Such too mufl clafs, by wife Chryfippus rules, 
With thee, Menenius ! and thy fellow- fools. 

" O Jove ! " the mother cries, whofe fole employ 
For five long months has been to nurfe her boy, 
ee O Jove ! who, as thy fovereign will may pleafe, 
" Infli&effc anguifh or reliev'ft difeafe, 
•* If to thefe weeping eyes thou giv'fl.to fee 
" My lingering little-one from ague free, 
" On the firft folemn fail thy priefts command 
6i Chin-deep in Tiber's current he fhall fland." 
Should chance or med'cine's aid prolong his breath 
And fnatch her fo filing from the jaws of death. 
Bare on the river's brink fhe makes him fit, 
Then pull him in, renews his ague-fit, 
And flamps his doom. — What mania have we here ? 
What but the frenfy of religious fear ? 

If So fpake the fage Stertinius good and great, 
The eighth wife man and wifefl of the eight : 
Such arms in felf-defence he bade me wield, 
And drive each rude afTailant from the field. 
Who calls me mad, now hears as much in turn ; 
And he, that taxes me, perchance may learn, 
To his own groffer faults no longer blind, 
To mark the wallet pendent from behind. 

1T O floic ! fo may future luck befriend 
Your bargains, and your fhatter'd fortunes mend ! 
Since you have clearly proved that all men's minds 
Are touch'd, and folly is of various kinds, 



s. in. The Satires. 113 

Say which of all its fpecies racks my brain ? 
For 'faith I feem not to myfelf infane. 
<T Nor did the mad Agave, when fhe bore 
Her own fon's head and eyed the dripping gore. 
<[[ Come then, I grant the juftice of your rule, 
And will mofl humbly own myfelf a fool, — 
Nay, madman too. Say only of what turn 
You think my madnefs is ? fl" Attend and learn. 
Firft then you build ; in other words, you vie 
With giants, tho' you ftand fcarce three feet high. 
You fmile, when Turbo on the ftage is feen, 
At his fmall ftature and commanding mien : 
But is he more ridiculous than you, 
When, whatfoe'er you fee Maecenas do, 
Forthwith, regardlefs of your pigmy frame, 
You think that Horace too mull do the fame ! 

A mother frog, 'tis faid, in queft of food 
Had roam'd abroad and left her infant brood : 
An ox came by and crufh'd them all but one, 
Who told his weeping mother what was done,— 
How a ftupendous monfler huge and tall 
Had trodden on the reft and kill'd them all. 
Then purring both her fides, D'ye think, faid fhe, 
'Twas big as this? — " Aye, bigger far," quoth he. 
What big as this ? — " Nay, mother, ceafe," he cries ; 
" Strain till you burft, you'll never reach his lize." 

This fable pidures to the life the ftate 
Of little folk, like you, that ape the great. 
Add to thefe fymptoms that molt ftrange defire 
For fcribbling verfe — add oil, that is, to fire : 
For when was poet known that had his wits ? 
^T Hold, hold ! ^[ I mention not your raving fits, 
That horrid aptitude to fume and fret — 

1 



ii4 The Satires. b. ii. 

If Good Damafippus, have you not done yet ? 
11 Your ftyle of living far above your fphere — 
1T Pray, faucy ftoic, ceafe to interfere 
In my concerns. U And then your lewd excefs — 
11 Oh fpare, thou greater madman, fpare a lefs ! 



SATIRE IV. 

In the form of a dialogue between Horace and Catius. 

HAH, Catius ! whence and whither now fo fall r 
If Prithee excufe me ; I'm in urgent halle 
To note down precepts which the Samian fage, 
The tongue of Socrates, and Plato's page 
Ne'er equall'd. H Marry, I confefs my crime 
To interrupt you at this awkward time. 
Yet Hay, indulge my thirft of curious lore : 
What now efcapes, reflection will reftore ; 
For, be the fyftem relative to art 
Or nature, you have always both by heart. 
If But then I'd fain fubflantiate, 'ere 'tis fled, 
This fkein of doctrine fpun of ilenderefl thread. 
1f And who is he from whom the doctrine came r 
Roman or fojourner ? and what's his name ? 
1f Go to — I'll try and tell you, if I can, 
The rules themfelves : no matter for the man. 

The long-fhaped eggs mould be preferr'd to round : 
Their juice is richer, and they more abound 
In nutriment. This rule will never fail, 
For they inclofe the embryo of the male. 

The cabbage grown in dry and upland fields 



s. iv. The Satires. 115 

Is Tweeter far than what the fuburb yields. 
Here none but plants of wafhy taile are had : 
Irriguous ground for all this tribe is bad. 

Should you receive an unexpected guell, 
And frefh-kill'd fowl be all you have, 'twere bell 
Soufe it alive in mix'd Falernian wine : 
This makes the flefh eat tender, rich, and fine. 

Prefer thofe mufhrooms that in paflures fpring: 
To fwallow others is a dangerous thing. 

I warrant he (hall feldom ficknefs feel 
Who with ripe mulb'ries ends his morning meal : 
But then they mull be gather'd, to be fweet, 
'Ere the fun iheds his full meridian heat. 

Aufidius for his morning beverage ufed 
Honey in ilrong Falernian wine infufed ; 
But here methinks he fhew'd his want of brains : 
Drink lefs auilere bell fuits the empty veins. 
And he with greater prudence will proceed 
Who wets his wizzard firfl with lenient mead. 
If nature lingers, in one mefs combine 
Dwarf- forrel, mufcles, and white Coan wine ; 
To the clogg'd flomach 'twill reilore its play 
And wafh the crude obilruclions clean away. 
Shell-fifh afford a lubricating {lime : 
But then you mull obferve both place and time. 
They're caught the fined when the moon is new ; 
The Lucrine far excel the Baian too. 
Mifenum mines in cray-fifh ; Circe moil 
In oyflers ; fcollops let Tarentum boaft. 

The culinary critic firfl fhould learn 
Each nicer made of flavour to difcern : 
To fweep the fifh-flalls is mere fhow at bell, 
Unlefs you know how each thing fhould be dreil ; 



i J 6 The Satires. b. ii. 

And what if roafted — what if ftew'd aright 
Rallies the ftomach and renews the fight. 

Let boars of Umbrian growth replete with mall, 
If game delight you, crown the rich repaft : 
Thofe of Laurentian breed, whofe only food 
Ave fedge and rufhes, are not half fo good. 
The vine-fed gazell fmall enjoyment brings : 
The wife in pregnant hares prefer the wings. 
To con the worth and age of fifh and bird, 
'Ere I explain'd it, was an art ne'er heard. 
Some wafte their genius upon parte alone, 
As if one virtue would all faults atone : 
Others in choice of wines place all their pride, 
Indifferent in what oil their fifh is fried. 
Expofe to a clear fky your Maffic wine ; 
Whate'er was thick, the night-air will refine. 
Unpleafant odours too will thus be chafed : 
But flraining it through linen mars the tafte. 
Whoe'er, its flrength and fpirit to increafe, 
Pours his Surrentine o'er Falernian lees, 
Should clarify the mafs with pigeons' eggs, 
Which in their fall precipitate the dregs. 
Baked fhrimps and cockles o'er the furnace dreft 
Serve to recruit the faturated gueft. 
But lettuce after many a bumper glafs 
Floats on the ftomach and corrodes the mafs. 
Chufe rather ham or chitterlings or aught 
That reeking from the Tavern-fire is brought. 

The compound fauce demands your niceft care, 
Mix'd up with oil, rich wine, and caviare : 
But be it of no other fort than that 
Long fmce diftill'd from a Byzantine vat. 
With fhredded herbs and faffron let it boil, 



s. iv. The Satires. 117 

And when it cools, pour in Venafrian oil. 

Tiburtine pears to Picene yield in juice, 

In look fuperior, but lefs fit for ufe. 

For grapes Venaculan big jars provide, 

But dry the Alban at your chimney's fide. 

This grape with apples, brine, and Coan lees, 

(Add fait and fifted pepper, if you pleafe) 

Round the main difh in feparate plates to ftrew 

Is an invention to my genius due. 

Fools, having fpent a fortune for a fifii, 

Cramp its circumference in a fcanty difh. 

'Tis apt foul naufea in the gueft to raife, 

If by a greafy glafs the Have betrays 

His lickoriih thefts : nor is the eye lefs hurt 

To fee an antique vafe begrimed with dirt. 

How fmall of fand, brooms, duflers is the price ! 

Yet to o'erlook them what a flagrant vice ! 

Gods ! who would fweep with filthy befom o'er 

The beauties of a tefTelated floor ? 

Or who with fenfe of decency would fpread 

An unwafh'd cover o'er a purple bed ? 

The lefs expenfe and pains fuch trifles claim, 

To difregard them is the greater lhame : 

Some comforts nought but wealth commands ; but 

Are fuch as all can compafs if they pleafe. [thefe 

f[ Good Catius ! let me by the gods, I pray, 
Hear this profeflbr, be he who he may. 
For though you have his lectures at command, 
Yet through your mouth it comes but fecond-hand. 
Befides there's fomething in his look, his air, 
Far more than you that know him are aware. 
I, by the love of facred fcience led, 
Would quaff her waters at the fountain-head. 



n8 The Satires. b. ii. 



SATIRE V. 

Dialogue between Vlyffes and Tirefias. 

THANKS, good Tirefias ! — yet in one point more 
Vouchfafe the aid of your prophetic lore. 
The ways and means, if aught there be, declare 
Kind fage ! my fhatter'd fortunes to repair : 
And then — But fay, what means that lurking fmile ? 
V How now, unconfcionable fon of wile; 
Are your regards fo foon on lucre bent ? 
A refcued outcaft, and not yet content ! 
Seems it fo fmall a boon to greet once more 
Your houfehold-gods, and tread your native fhore ? 

% Unerring feer ! how ftripp'd I muft behold 
That much-loved home, you have yourfelf foretold ; 
There not a cellar nor a flock remain 
Of mine, unranfack'd by the fuitor-train. 
And well Tirefias wots, that fame and birth 
With empty coffers are of little worth. 

^T To fpeak plain truth, 'tis penury you fear : 
Would you then learn the road to wealth, give ear. 
If a male-thrufh be fent you by a friend, 
Or other tit-bit more than markets vend, 
Balk your own palate, and difpatch it ftraight 
To fome old dotard with a huge eftate. 
The firft- fruits of your garden and your field, 
Whate'er your ponds — whate'er your orchards yield, 
'Ere offerings due before the Gods be placed, 
Let your more worthy God— the rich man — tafte. 



s. v. The Satires. 119 

Though reeking from a brother's blood, forfworn, 
A thief, a renegade, the butt of fcorn, 
Yield the pert fool precedence ; nor difdain, 
If need require, to linger in his train. 

1F And muft UlyfTes then (oh foul difgrace !) 
Truckle to knaves and give a Dama place ? 
Not fo I bore myfelf at Troy, but fwell'd 
With proud ambition, and with heroes held 
High rivalry, frill foremoft to endure 
The battle's brunt. IF Be proud then, and be poor. 
H Nay, then, cheer up, my foul ! — for ah ! what care 
Has not that foul already learn'd to bear ? 
Only proceed, great prophet, to unfold 
The promifed path to happinefs and gold. 

11 I fay, hunt legacies ; lay every bait 
To choufe the doating churl of his eftate : 
And though fome few, too fly to be your prey, 
May nibble round the hook and flink away, — 
Ne'er in defpondence from your purpofe flart, 
Nor for one failure drop the gainful art. 
Should rumour whifper of a fuit at law, — 
How great, how trivial, matters not a flraw — 
Afk not on which fide juftice lies; but which 
Is childlefs, fuperannuated, rich : 
And though he fue perhaps from wanton fpite, 
Plead on his fide and prove that black is white. 
But him of jufler caufe and purer life 
Spurn, if a fon be his or teeming wife. 
Accofl your client then in terms like thefe : 
" Quintus, or Publius," or whate'er you pleafe — 
Only be fure the fool his furname hears, 
For thefe fame furnames tickle tender ears ; — 
" That worth, which long has fix'd me for your friend, 



120 The Satires. b. ii. 

" Now zeal for juftice prompts me to defend. 

" In pleading I am verfed, in fpeech excel, 

" And know the wire-drawn quirks of Law full well. 

" Make yourfelf eafy ; leave the cafe to me ; 

" For fooner would I lofe thefe eyes than fee 

" So good a creature cheated of a mite : 

" 111 trounce the caitiff and ailert your right." 

Then bid him to domeftic peace retire, 

While you conduct things to his heart's deiire. 

Bawl loud for juflice 'fpite of fummer's dull, 

Though blazing Sirius fplit the new-made buft ; 

Nor heed though Furius in his mawkifh mood 

Befpirt with hoary fnows the Alpine wood. 

Perchance fome witnefs of the wordy fray 

Shall twitch his neighbour's fleeve, and whifpering 

fay — 
" How Haunch he is ! how ardent to defend 
" His client's caufe ! how zealous for his friend ! " 
Thus one good trick a thoufand dupes cajoles, 
'Till Thunnies crowd to your decoy in fhoals. 

Anon, left fome fufpecl the fhallow plan, 
Vary the field, and court the married man. 
But pay your molt obfequious fervice there, 
Where wealth awaits fome puny milk-fop heir. 
This feldom fails : for, mould he profper, ftill 
Your name ftands fecond in the old man's will : 
And, if good-luck mould fend him to his tomb, 
Ulyffes fhall fupply the ftripling's room. 

Whene'er a will is given you to be read, 
Decline the tafk and turn afide your head. 
Yet, as with coy reluctance you deny 
And pufh it from you, glance a carelefs eye 
Down to the fecond Item, and explore 



s. v. The Satires. 121 

Whether your name Hand fole, or join'd with more. 
Yet mark me well ; and, cautious what you do, 
Beware the tables be not turn'd on you. 
A fhrewd old Scrivener, future time will mow, 
Shall like the fox cajole the gaping crow ; 
Coranus fhall his wheedling foe outwit, 
And fad Nafica prove the biter bit. 
1T Are you ftark mad ? or do you but intend 
To fay in jell what none can comprehend ? 
1T Son of Laertes ! every word by me 
Foretold, is fure to be — or not to be ! 
From great Apollo flows this art of mine, 
And he it was who taught me to divine. 
1T Yet prithee if the fecret may be told, 
The meaning of that myftic tale unfold. 
1T What time a hero, whofe high lineage fprings 
From brave ^Eneas and from Trojan kings, 
The Parthian's terror and his country's boaft, 
Shall ftretch his fway o'er many a diitant coafl, 
Nafica's daughter fhall Coranus wed, 
And grace (to pay old debts) a letcher's bed. 
Then fhall the fon intreat him to perufe 
His will, which long the father mall refufe : 
Yet, after decent fcruples, he complies ; 
When — Oh ! the difmal truth that meets his eyes ! 
For nothing can the wretched cull find there 
Bequeathed to him or his, fave blank defpair. 
But, to proceed — Is there a dotard fway'd 
By fome fly freedman or fome canting jade, — 
Unite with them in amicable league, 
And court the profits of a joint intrigue. 
Praife their afTiduous zeal with kind concern, 
That they may found your praifes in their turn. 



122 The Satires. b. ii, 

This plan may anfwer : — Yet 'twere beft of all 

At one bold ftroke to ftorm the capital. 

Does the poor driveller fcribble doggrel verfe ? 

Commend his tafte as fine — his flyle as terfe. 

Or is he lewd ? anticipate his vows, 

Proffer with friendly zeal your loving fpoufe, 

And, as if none but he deferved fuch charms, 

Blefs with Penelope his wither'd arms. 

11 Think you a dame fo prudent, fo difcreet, 

Will e'er confent to humour this deceit — 

She whom the fuitors, though they tried each art, 

Could never tempt from honour to depart ? 

If Thofe fuitors feldom tried what gold can do : 

Their pafhon rather was to fealt, than woo. 

Gratuitouily chafte fhe was, I grant ; 

But find her out fome veteran rich gallant, 

And let her fhare the profits of his flame, — 

I warrant you fhe'll follow up the game. 

An odd occurrence in my time befel 
An honed Theban whom I knew full well. 
A rich old lady left him all fhe had, 
With one provifo which me chofe to add : 
My corpfe (faid fhe), anointed well, my heir 
On naked /boulders to the pile muft bear : 
Hoping no doubt, when all her toils were paft, 
To give her humble flave the flip at laft. 
Beware of teazing then ; proceed with art ; 
Be neither fhy, nor over-act your part. 
Avoid extremes ; be neither too verbofe, — 
For others' prate is death to the morofe ; 
Nor too referved, — ftill lefs will that engage 
The felf-complacency of babbling age. 
But copy Davus in the play, who ftands 



s. v. The Satires. 123 

Awe-ftruck, with head inclined and folded hands. 

Studious to ferve and forward to obey, 

Win by obfequioufnefs your eafy way. 

Intreat him, mould the air bite fharp and cold, 

The cloak around his precious throat to fold: 

In walking, elbow off the faucy throng, 

And ftoutly hale his tottering fteps along : 

With greedy ear let all his tales be heard, 

And catch his jells as loath to lofe a word. 

Does he love praife ? indulge the puppy's thirft ; 

Blow the capacious bladder 'till it buril : 

Go on till he exclaims with angry air 

And hands upraifed — Hold, flatterer, forbear ! 

At length when, clofed your bondage and your fear, 
The long expected found falutes your ear — 
Item, to dear Ulyjfes I bequeath 
One moiety, as herein underneath — 
With well-feign'd forrow ever and anon 
Sigh out — " And is my Dama dead and gone ? 
" Ah, woe is me ! where fhall I ever find 
" Another friend fo conflant and fo kind ? " 
Meanwhile, if poffible, with much ado 
Squeeze from your eyes a trickling tear or two : 
For practice to the features can impart 
A gloom that mafks the gladnefs of the heart. 
If to direcl the funeral be your doom, 
Raife to his memory a fumptuous tomb : 
Thus at no great expenfe much fame is won, 
And all the world fhall fay 'twas nobly done. 
Perchance among your co-heirs there appears 
One with a wheezing cough advanced in years : 
If fuch there be, accoft him and declare 
That if he wifhes to partake your fhare, 



124 The Satires. b. ii. 

Be it or houfe or land, you are not nice, 
He's welcome to it and may name his price. 

More I could fing : — But hark, the queen of hell 
Chides my delay : — a laft, a long farewell ! 



SATIRE VI. 

THIS was of old my wifhes' utmoft bound ; — 
A fnug eftate with houfe and garden ground, 
Where a fmall grove might wave its foliage near 
And a pure fpring run bubbling all the year. 
Indulgent Heaven has granted this, and more : 
'Tis well ; no further bleffings I implore. 
Great fon of Maia, make but to endure 
The boons I have, and ftamp their tenure fure ! 

If to no fraud I owe what I poiTefs, 
If by no fault or folly make it lefs, — 
If from my lips no idle vows efcape, 
As, " Oh for yonder nook that mars the fhape 
Of my domain ! " or, " Oh would chance unfold 
To thefe bleft eyes fome fecret hoard of gold ! " 
(As he that ploughing found a treafured ftore 
And bought the land he till'd for hire before) 
If pleafed with what is given thy votary lives, 
Nor indifpofed to blefs the hand that gives ; — 
Thus I intreat thee : ftill vouchfafe to fried 
Thy tutelary influence o'er my head ! 
Increafe my cattle, to my flocks be kind, 
And fatten all I have — except my mind ! 

Fled from the city and the city's care 



s. vi. The Satires. 125 

To breathe on Sabine hills a purer air, 
(Welcome, fweet theme ! than which I ne'er can chufe 
One more congenial to my llip-fhod mufe) 
Ambition's burthen from my mind I caft, 
And fhun the prcffure of the noxious blaft ; 
Autumn's grim form, that loads the frequent bier 
And gluts the grave, remits his terrors here. 

Thou whom the morning's bufy crowd adore ! 
Or Janus ! — if that title pleafe thee more — 
Great Sire, fmce all mankind, by Heaven's decree, 
'Ere they commence their labours, bow to thee, — 
With thee begins my fong. — From peaceful home 
To offer bail thou fummon'ft me to Rome. 
" Arife," I hear thee cry — " Begone with fpeed ; 
" Let none anticipate the friendly deed. 
u What though the withering north-wind fcour the 

plain ? 
" What though bleak winter, fraught with fnow and 

rain, 
" Bid the fwift day in narrower circles run ? 
" 'Tis buftnefs calls, and bufinefs mull be done." 

Suppofe me then at Rome, in forms exprefs 
Bound to what foon may plunge me in diftrefs : 
Next I've to pufh my paffage through the throng, 
Elbow the flow, and irritate the flrong. 
Madman ! cries one among the faucy rout, 
What brought you here, and what are you about P 
With fuch officious zeal you rujh to greet 
Maecenas, that you joftle all you meet ! 
This, I mult own, is mufic to my ear : 
Reproach like this I feel a pride to hear. 
Entering at laft Efquilia's fhady gloom, 
Scarce am I ufher'd to the Levee-room, 



126 The Satires. b. ii. 

When — Oh, what fwarms of dull requefts invade, 

Buzz at my ear and thicken round my head ! 

Rofcius to morrow 'ere the hour of eight 

Begs your attendance as his advocate, — 

Tour brother clerks hope you' 11 return to day 

On bufinefs which admits of no delay. — 

Another brings me parchments : Sir, you'll pie of e 

To let Maecenas fix his feal to thefe. 

Should one with hefitating air reply, 

" Whate'er Sir, the refult may be, I'll try;" 

Nay, he rejoins, enforcing his requeft, 

Try but in earn eft — none can doubt the reft. 

Sev'n rolling years are nearly at an end 
Since firft Maecenas bade me be his friend, 
So far that on a journey or a ride 
He'd place me in the chariot by his fide, 
Join in light converfe, and politely chat 
With air familiar about this and that : 
As, Whafs the hour? — Which fencer fhowsmoftfkill? 
Without a cloak the mornings now bite chill : 
And all fuch fmall-talk, as without much pother 
Comes in at one ear and flies out at t'other. 
Envy meanwhile grew louder every day, 
And every hour beheld me more her prey. 
Some folks, it feems, are mighty friends of late ; 
Together at the Jhows they're tete-a-tete y 
Then at the Tennis-court, 'tis juft the fame : 
Oh, he's the child of fortune! — all exclaim. 

Is fome vague rumour whifper'd through the ftreet? 
I'm ftopt and fifted by each fool I meet. 
Good fir ! — for you who live fo much at court 
Muft needs have heard, — what means this odd report 
About the Dacians ? — " Troth, fir," I reply, 



s. vi. The Satires. 127 

" You're in the fecret juft as much as I." 

Ah, how you love to banter ! would I knew 

One half as much ! — t€ Nay, hang me if I do I" 

Will Gtefar quarter, pray, his veteran bands 

On the Sicilian or Italian lands ? 

If I proteft my ignorance, I then 

Pafs for the myefl and moil clofe of men ! 

'Mid fuch diftraclions doom'd to wafte the day, 
How often, how devoutly do I pray — 
Dear rural fhades, where peace and filence reign, 
Ah, when fhall I behold you once again ? 
When ftudious there the paths of fcience tread, 
And hold high converfe with the mighty dead ? 
Or, indolently funk in floth ferene, 
Quaff fweet oblivion of the world's dull fcene ? 
When fhall the beans, by Samian fage adored, 
With favoury pork and pottage grace my board ? 
O halcyon nights ! O feafls that never cloy ! — 
Fealts, that the gods themfelves might tafte with joy! 
When I and mine betide my own loved hearth; 
Seafoning our fimple meal with fober mirth, 
Regale on viands plentiful though plain, 
And leave the remnants to the faucy train ! 
There free from foolifh rules, the guefls at eafe 
Caroufe from goblets of what fize they pleafe : 
This fips the cup, and that without controul 
Draws deep potations from the ampler bowl. 

Nor is it long 'ere fubjects of debate 
Are ftarted — not of this or that eltate — 
Not of the manfions where the great may dwell, 
Nor whether Lepos dances ill or well ; — 
But other topics of more near concern, 
And things which it were mifery not to learn : — 



128 The Satires. b. il 

As, whether wealth or virtue makes us bleft ; 
If friendfhip fpring from love or intereft ; 
In what the goods of human life confift ; 
And what the fovereign good that tops the lift. 

'Mid fuch debates friend Cervius oft lets fall 
Some pithy tale in point that charms us all : 
Thus, if one chanced to praife the dear bought blifs 
Of rich Arellius, ftraight his tale was this : — 

Once on a time (as ancient legends tell) 
A field-moufe welcomed to his humble cell 
A moufe from town, old cronies both. Our hoft, 
Though of economy he made much boaft, 
Yet, when occafion offer'd, could unbend, 
And knew with open heart to greet a friend. 
In one word muftering now his choiceft fare, 
Wild oats he brought, with many a hoarded tare, 
Scraps of half-nibbled pork, and raifins fweet ; 
In hopes at leaft by varying thus the treat 
To tempt the fqueamifh palate of the cit, 
Who fneer'd contempt and fcarcely touch'd a bit. 
Not fo the mafter of the manfion ; he, 
Stretch'd on a Hubble couch, devour'd with glee 
Coarfe chaff and darnel, leaving all the beft 
With due politenefs to his daintier gueft. 

At laft the cit, unable to refrain, 
Broke forth, — " I vow, my friend, it gives me pain 
" To fee you thus put up with vulgar food, 
" Coop'd in the covert of a ihaggy wood. 
" Do take my counfel ; quit this hideous den, 
" Run up to Town with me, and live with men. 
" And, fince in every creature upon earth 
" Lurk feeds of diffolution from its birth, — 
" Since foon or late, however great or fmall, 



s. vi. The Satires. 129 

" Inexorable Death awaits us all, — 
" Be wife, be happy ; revel while you may, 
" And lengthen by enjoyment life's fhort day." 
Such cogent reafoning who could long oppofe ? 
Light bounding out of doors to Town he goes : 
And fide by fide they trip, refolved to creep 
Up the town-walls when all were fail afleep. 

Now pitchy night had wrapt the world in gloom, 
When chance conduces them to a lordly dome, 
Where broider'd cufhions flainM with Tyrian dye 
On ivory couches ftruck the dazzled eye, 
And fragments of the feaft of yefterday 
Piled up aloft in tempting bafkets lay. 
Placing the peafant on a fumptuous feat, 
Himfelf officiates and prolongs the treat; 
With bufy fpeed from fifh to paftry fprings, 
Brings all the belt, and taftes it 'ere he brings. 

The clown exulting in his alter'd fate 
Lolls like a prince upon his bed of Hate, 
Thinks of his former fare with high difdain, 
Roves o'er the feaft, and fluffs and fwills again. 
When fuddenly the doors with thundering noife 
Burft open and at once difpel their joys : 
OfF in a trice each bounces from his chair, 
And fcampers round the hall he fcarce knows where : 
Anon, to add to their alarm, rufh in 
Fierce hounds, the wide roof echoing to their din. 
Then thus the ruflic : ** Friend, excufe my hafte ; 
" Farewell ! this life may fuit a town-bred tafte : 
" Remote from danger rather let me dwell 
" Cheer'd with an acorn in my wild- wood cell ! " 



130 The Satires. b. ii, 



SATIRE VII. 

Dialogue between Horace and his Jlave Davus. 

YOU, fir, with patient zeal I long have heard ; 
And might a Have for once put in a word — 
IT What honefl Davus ? f Aye, fir, even fo, 
A faithful drudge and frugal as times go : 
Thrifty as you fhall meet, though (as they fay) 
Not yet perhaps too good on earth to flay. 
IT Well, take (iince thus our fathers have decreed) 
The feafon's licenfe ; to thy tale, — proceed. 

H Firm to their purpofe, fome perfifl in fin, 
Err boldly on, and end as they begin : 
Others, ftill halting between right and wrong, 
Are every thing by flarts and nothing long : 
They foar in virtue now ; — and in a trice, 
The flaves of random whim, they fink in vice. 
Dazzling each eye, one day with three rings on 
Would Prifcus Unit, — the next perhaps with none 
Now for retirement, now for place and power, 
His mind — his garb he ihifted every hour. 
Tired of a palace, fudden he would hie, 
And damning grandeur flink into a fly, — 
Some alley-dungeon, filthy, dark and mean, 
Where fcarce a decent freed-man would be feen. 
A rhetorician fometimes he would roam 
To Athens — fometimes flay a rake at home. 
Sure at his birth all the Vertumni fhed 
In wrath their changeful influence on his head. 



s. vii. The Satires. 131 

How different Volanerius ! when the gout 

Had cramp'd each joint with many a hearty bout, 

True to his plan and refolute in vice 

He hired a drudge to pick and troll his dice. 

Yet even he (for this one praife he had) 

Was better, becaufe uniformly bad, 

Than he who tightens now — now flacks his tether, 

And knows not his own mind two hours together. 

% Well, firrah ! where are thefe dull faws to end ? 
1T Dear mailer ! no offence, — to you they tend. 
% How fo, thou faucy knave? — 11 Your tongue ftill 

chimes 
The fimple manners of the good old times ; 
Yet, if fome god fhould grant you what you chufe, 
Sure as my name is Davus, you'd refufe; — 
Either becaufe you feel not what you fay, 
Or change your principles from day to day, 
And vainly flrive to loofe your tangled foot, 
Refolving flill and flill irrefolute. 

In Rome you praife the country ; polling down 
Into the country, there you praife the town. 
Should no kind friend invite you as his guell, 
Why then, be fure, fnug privacy is bell ; 
And Oh thank Heaven — you cry, like fome reclufe 
Whom nothing but main force could e'er induce 
To llir abroad — thank Heaven, I fup at home ! 
Meanwhile fhould but Maecenas bid you come, 
Gods ! what a bullle flraight enfues ! Here,Jlave, 
Fetch ?ne the oil '/ run, fly — you llamp and rave. 
Milvius with all the fpunging crew retreat, 
And muttering wifh — more than I dare repeat. 
" I own (cries one) the kitchen-lleams impart 
6 e Joy to my nofe and rapture to my heart : 



132 The Satires. b. ii. 

" I am a glutton, — I deny it not ; 

" Add, if you will, a fluggard and a fot : 

" And fome there are, it feems, as bad as I, 

gt Or worfe ; but then they're marvellouily fly, 

" And, while at others' faults they ftart and groan, 

" Veil in a cloud of cafuiflry their own." — 

Such is their talk : and what if the fame rule 

Will prove that Horace is as mere a fool 

As the poor Have he bought for fifty crowns ? — 

Nay, check your hand, good fir ! and fpare your 

frowns, 
While I retail fome doctrines which of late 
Crifpinus' porter taught me at his gate. 

You court the matron ; Davus woos at moil 
The trull : which bell deferves the whipping-poll ? 
When pafiion urges, Davus feeks the flews : 
No dread has he his credit there to lofe, — 
No fear left one of greater wealth or charms 
Should take the faithlefs fair-one to his arms. 
When you intriguing go, to cheat the fight, 
You drop the robe and ring, and dofF the Knight, — 
With the coarfe cowl your perfumed trefies hide, 
And lay the terrors of the judge afide. 
You feign the Have ; and in good footh 'tis plain 
You are the very character you feign. 
Admittance gain'd, impetuous pafiion burns 
And trembling terror chills your heart by turns. 
Then where's the difference, whether you engage, 
Like the hired fencer on the public ftage, 
To brave the flinging lam and galling blade, — 
Or by my Lady's confidential maid, 
When danger threatens, you be tamely prefl 
Heels over head within fome narrow chefl ? 



s. vii. The Satires. 133 

Has the wrong' d hufband a jufl right to kill 
The wife ? — O'er you he has a juiler ftill. 
She quits not home ; fhe wears no mean difguife ; 
Nor, till encompaiT'd by foft fnares, complies ; 
And plays at lail, half trembling, half trepann'd, 
The under-part, and fins but fecond-hand. 
Go, be a Have then of your own accord ; 
Bow to the yoke, fwear fealty to your lord ; 
And yield at once, without one blufh of fhame, 
Life, perfon, fubftance, character, and fame ! 
Have you efcaped? — Then, wifer than before, 
You mean, no doubt, to play the fool no more. 
Alas ! not fo : — The fame mad courfe you run, 
Again to quake, again to be undone. 

ilave by choice ! what beaft, that breaks his chain 
And quits his cage, returns to it again ? 

I'm no adulterer, methinks you cry : 
Perhaps you are not ; nor a thief am I, 
When with a fidelong glance and flifled wifh 

1 pafs the luflre of fome filver dim. 

Place but the danger fomewhat out of view, 
I were the thief, and the adulterer you : 
Recoiling nature would ufurp the foul, 
And like the' unbridled racer fpurn controul. 

And mull I call you mailer, — you, whom all 
The tyrant pamons thus by turns enthrall, — 
Whom not the Praetor's wand, thrice o'er your head 
Or four times waved could free from fervile dread ? 
Though Scrub's the title which you great folks gave, 
Who ferves a fervant is his fellozv-JIave. 
How flands the cafe then 'twixt myfelf and you ? 
I ferve my mailer — he ferves others too ; 
And, like a wire-work'd puppet, kicks or fprings, 



134 The Satires. b. ii. 

Juft as the fovereign paffion pulls the firings. 

Who then is free ? — The man with wifdom fraught, 
Lord of himfelf in action, word, and thought ; 
Whom neither duns nor dungeons can affright, 
Nor death deter from following what is right ; 
Who fpurns the trifles that vain fools admire, 
And awes to filence every wild defire : 
Collected in himfelf, compact and round, 
All outward ills from his fmooth furface bound ; 
Fortunes keen fhafts can find no entrance there, 
But glance afide and fpend their force in air. 

Say, can you claim the portrait as your own ? 
Can you prefume to talk in this high tone ? 
Your fair-one haply hints a fmall douceur ; 
She afks five talents ; — dare you to demur? 
To cool your flame, kick'd fairly out of doors, 
A plenteous fhower upon your head fhe pours. 
Again fhe fummons you : now let us fee 
If you can fpurn the yoke, and fay — I'm free ! 
'Tis vain ; for in your heart does Hill refide 
A tyrant lord that will not be denied : 
He rufhes on you, hurries you away, 
And fpurs you forwards with reiiftlefs fway. 

When you fome piece of Paufias raptured view, 
And dote o'er each bold ftroke his pencil drew, 
Are you not mad as Davus, when he flays 
Admiring ' with a foolifh face of praife' 
The combat of two fencers, quaintly plann'd 
In chalk or charcoal by fome ruftic hand, 
Where with ftrain'd finews, as in actual ftrife, 
They feem to pufh and parry to the life ? 
Yet he's the loitering vagabond, be fure ; — 
You the nice judge, the' accomplilh'd connoifTeur ! 



s. vii. The Satires. 135 

Should Davus lick the marmalade or hafh, 
Poor Davus rues his crime beneath the lafh : 
While your magnanimous and lofty foul 
Confronts the fumptuous board and fparkling bowl. 
If I am caught, foon beaten to a jelly 
My back atones the cravings of my belly : 
Yes, and thofe coflly viands when you buy, 
You meet your recompenfe as well as I : 
Crude qualms opprefs and feverifh heats inflame, 
And the legs fink beneath the bloated frame. 
The varlet, mercy on him ! ne'er efcapes, 
Who fells a pilfer' d ilrigil for fome grapes : 
And is the mailer wholly free, forfooth, 
Who pawns his land to glut his dainty tooth? 

Befides, good fir ! you have not yet the power 
To commune with yourfelf one fmgle hour : 
Unprofitable trifles wade the day, 
And all your time glides unimproved away : 
Like fome bafe fugitive, you vainly try 
With truant foot ev'n from yourfelf to fly ! 
Seeking to drown in wine or foothe by reft 
The torturing care that riots in your breaft : 
But no — the gloomy fiend, go where you will, 
Still haunts your footfteps and torments you ftill. 
1T Fetch me a ftone I 1f How now ? IT a flick ! 

1T Foregad, 
The man is either rhyming or flark-mad. 
11 Silence, pert knave ! or know, thy doom is feal'd, 
To drudge in fetters on my Sabine field. 



136 The Satires. b. ii. 



SATIRE VIII. 

Dialogue between Horace and Fundanius. 

I HOPE you liked the banquet, which they fay 
The fplendid Rufus gave you yefterday. 
For, when I wifh'd you to partake my fare, 
I found you had been long caroufing there. 
H Troth, never merrier in my life before. 
1T What firft came on ? If A huge Lucanian boar, 
Caught, as we heard the mailer oft declare, 
What time the fouthern breeze blew frefh and fair. 
Rapes, lettuce, radifhes were round it placed, 
With fundry fauces pungent to the tafte, 
And form'd the jaded appetite to teaze, 
As fkirwort, pickled fhad, and Coan lees. 

This courfe withdrawn, a purple rug reftored 
Its brilliant beauty to the maple board ; 
Another flave fwept up the fcraps that fell, 
That nothing might offend the fight or fmell. 
Advancing next with flep demure and flaid, 
Slow as at Ceres' rites the Attic maid, 
The fwart Hydafpes bore Caecubian wine, — 
Alcon pure Chian undebafed with brine. 

Then thus our hoft befpoke his noble guefl : 
" Are thefe the wines, my Lord, you relifh beft ? 
" If thofe of Alban or Falernian growth 
" Pleafe more, pray fpeak the word — we have them 
both." 

IF Poor pride of grandeur ! but I long to hear 



s. viii. The Satires. 137 

Who elfe, Fundanius, fhared the lufcious cheer. 

1T Myfelf fat firfl — Thurinus next — below 

Varius, I think : at top, with Balatro 

On this fide and Vibidius on that, 

Both ufher'd as friends* friends, Maecenas fat. 

Above the mailer Nomentanus graced 

The couch, and Porcius was beneath him placed. 

Oh, you'd- have fmiled to fee the latter fluff 

Whole tarts as if he ne'er could have enough. 

The tafk of Nomentanus was to point 

And pafs encomiums upon every joint : 

For we, poor fouls, were fed on fowl and fifh 

So fine, we fcarcely knew a fingle difh. 

Which facts foon fhew'd me ; for he fent a pile 

Of plaice and turbot cook'd in wondrous flyle : 

Then told me honey-apples lofe their hue 

Unlefs they're gather'd when the moon is new ; 

But how their look affects the tafle or fmell 

Afk him ; for troth 'tis more than I can tell. 

Whifpering to Balatro Vibidius vow'd — 
" By heaven we'll drink revenge " — then call'd aloud 
For larger cups. A fudden palenefs fpoke 
How heartily poor Rufus curfed the joke ; 
Who hates thefe deep potations from his foul, 
Since wit gains freedom from the flowing bowl, 
And potent bumpers fwallow'd down in hafle 
Blunt the fine organs and confound the tafle. 
Anon by their example all combine 
To drain with glee whole flagons-full of wine. 
As for our hofl and his fupporters, they, 
Poor fober fouls, did little in that way. 

But, while our goblets freely thus we crown 'd, 
A lamprey comes with floating prawns around, 



138 The Satires. b. ii. 

Stretch'd on a charger of flupendous fize. 

" This fifh is full of fpawn," the mailer cries : 

" Its flefh is therefore firm, I trull, and good. 

M The fauce has all the ingredients which it mould : 

" Oil from Venafrian vats, rich fpanifh brine ; 

" And, 'ere it boils, we mix old home-brew'd wine 

" (For Chian after that is better far) ; 

" White pepper too, and Lefbian vinegar. 

<c To pickle the green rocket, and to flew 

" Sour Elicampane, I'm the firfl who knew. 

" But fage Curtillus found for fauce the juice 

" Of cray-fifh far more fit than that in ufe." 

Meanwhile the awning overhead gave way, 
And brought down hideous ruin and difmay, 
With dull in fuch a thick and pitchy train 
As Boreas ne'er brufh'd from bleak Campania's plain. 
Startled at firfl, we fought anon to' explore 
The caufe ; when finding all the danger o'er, 
Our fears fubfided. Rufus hung the head, 
And fobb'd as if his only child were dead. 
Heav'n only knows what would have been the end, 
If Nomentanus had not cheer'd his friend 
With kind condoling fpeeches fuch as this : 
" Ah cruel Fortune, foe to human blifs ! 
" Invidious power, it feems thy fole delight 
<c All our enjoyments in the bud to blight." 

Varius his laughter with a napkin fcarce 
ReprefFd : when Balatro to this dull farce 
Contrived a more burlefque effect to give : 
" Such are the terms, cried he, on which we live \ 
" And thus the fair renown, which all your toils 
" Had well-nigh won, this curfl contingence fpoils. 
" Here now are you for our delicious fare 



s. viii. The Satires. 139 

" Diftra&ed with folicitude and care 

" For fear of ill-baked bread, ill-feafon'd broth, 

" An awkward footman, or a greafy cloth. 

u Things will not fall out always as we wifh : 

" A groom oft Humbling cracks a lordly dim ; 

" And times will happen, when, the deuce knows 

how, 
" Awnings will fall as they have fallen now. 
u But then a hoft's, like a commander's, fkill, 
u Obfcured by good fuccefs, mines forth in ill." 

Then Rufus— " Heaven fend all things to your 
mind, 
" So good a creature are you and fo kind !" 
Then, calling for his flippers, forth he fled ; 
While round each couch the titt'ring whifper fpread. 
H Gods, what a glorious light mull this have been ! 
But come, recount the fequel of the fcene. 
1T Vibidius, calling for more wine, in joke 
Demanded if the flagons too were broke. 
A thoufand fidlions all our mirth exprelFd, 
And Balatro Hill feconded the jell. 

When lo ! as bent by prudence to repair 
111 luck, comes Rufus back with alter'd air : 
Hard by in a huge dilh two footmen bore 
A crane cut up and grill'd, well fprinkled o'er 
With flour and fait : next, wondrous to the light, 
Livers of geefe fatten'd on figs and white : 
The wings of hares pluck'd off and feparate drell, 
As daintier far than eaten with the rell : 
With black-birds roalled to a coal and plump, 
And ring-doves fricafleed without the rump. 
Nice things in truth, if our officious holl 
Had ledured lefs on boil'd, llew'd, fried, and roall. 



140 The Satires. b. ii, 

At laft we fled, our fole revenge to eat 

Of fcarce one tit-bit that compofed the treat, 

As if Canidia o'er the whole repaft 

Had breathed infection with her viperous blaft. 



THE END OF THE SATIRES. 






THE EPISTLES 

BOOK I. 



THE EPISTLES 






BOOK I. 

• EPISTLE I, 

To Mac en as. — Horace declares his refolution to leave 
the lighter purfuits of life for those of true philo- 
fophy. 

OTHOU, whom in her earlieft fong my mufe 
Chofe for her theme, and in her lafl fhall chufe ! 
Declining as I am from life's bright noon, 
Difcharged and gifted with the light batoon, 
Why to its lafl poor dregs my glory drain, 
And drag your champion on the ftage again ? 
I am not what I was : youth's generous flame 
Burns dim, nor are my years nor thoughts the fame. 
Veianius, now grown old, his fword and fhield 
Fix'd on Alcides' column, quits the field, 
Left pufh'd for ever to its furtheft fand 
He fue for quarter with imploring hand. 
A voice there is which fays, or feems to fay — 
Loofe the bold courfer 'ere his powers decay, 
Nor after victories won and glories paft 
Expofe him to defeat and fcorn at laft. 

Henceforth adieu then to the toys of youth ! 



144 The Epistles. b. i, 

Adieu to wit's light fport, and welcome truth ! 
To con the maxims of the good and wife, 
To fearch where honour and where fitnefs lies, 
Careful to flore what after-life may need — 
This be my talk ; for this is wealth indeed ! 
Afk you whofe Heps I trace in this career, 
What feci: adopt and by what compafs fleer — 
Bound to no dogmas, to no fchoolman fworn, 
Where the florm drifts me, thither am I borne. 
Now plunged in flate- affairs I floutly fight, 
Virtue's bold champion and flern fatellite : 
Now back to Ariilippus' rules I flide, 
And win my way by yielding to the tide, 
Subduing (as the mighty matter fings) 
Things to myfelf and not myfelf to things. 

Long as the day to thofe whofe work is due, 
Or night to him whofe fair-one is untrue, — 
Long as to wards opprefl by dames fevere 
Seems ev'ry hour of the laft ling'ring year, — 
So drear and dull to me the moments flow 
Which bid me flill that needful tafk forego, 
Which done can fweeten wealth or want afluage, 
And which not done embitters youth or age. 

Meanwhile in thefe rude elements I find 
Somewhat to flay my fleps and foothe my mind. 
Though not a Lynceus, one may fure apply 
The lenient falve to a diflemper'd eye ; 
Nor would you fcorn from chalk-flones to preferve 
Joints that defpair of Gly con's lion nerve. 
Though hopelefs to furmount fair virtue's hill, 
To climb a certain height is fomethirig flill. 
Say, does the thirfl of gold your peace molefl, — 
Does avarice wake wild throbbings in your breafl r 



e. i. The Epistles. 145 

Words may be found and fpells that fhall alTuage 
The fever's pain and well-nigh quench its rage. 
Swell you with lull of glory ? 'twill fuffice 
To travel o'er a few plain pages thrice, 
In which, if well digeiled, you may find 
Charms to difpel thefe tumours of the mind. 
The heart with envy cold — with anger hot, 
The libertine, the fluggard and the fot — 
No wretch fo favage, but, if he refign 
His foul to culture, wifdom can refine. 

Vice to renounce is virtue's earliefl rule, 
Wifdom's firil flep to lay afide the fool. 
Through fire and water to the pole you run, 
Brook all difgrace and brave all toil, to ihun 
Some fancied evil, fome factitious curfe, 
A mob's rejection or a fcanty purfe. 
Thefe torturing objects of low care to fpurn, 
Is this a leiTon worth no pains to learn ? 
Who'd grudge a patient ear to wifdom's lore, 
What he had craved in vain, to crave no more ? 
What village-champion would the crown defpife, 
If fure without the dull to win the prize ? 

What fays the proverb ? — there methinks we're 
told, 
" Gold yields to worth as filver yields to gold." 
What fays the world ? — " Let money firfl be fought, 
" Virtue may follow as an after thought." 
With this fage doctrine all the Forum rings ; 
This each grey churl and fatchell'd fchool-boy lings. 
In wit, worth, honour one in vain abounds; — 
If of the Knight's eflate he lack ten pounds, 
He's low, d — d low k ! — yet hear the boys at fchool, 
Let him, fay they, whom virtue crowns, bear rule ! 



146 The Epistles. b. i. 

And wifely fay. Be good, then, and be great ; 
This be your tower of ftrength, your throne of Hate ; — 
To keep your heart unconfcious of a fin, 
And feel no goadings of remorfe within ! 
Now prithee which is right and which is wrong, 
The law of Otho or the fchool-boy's fong, — 
That burden our brave grandfires ufed to fmg, 
Which fagely hails the virtuous man a king ? 
Which of thefe two advifers claims our praife ? 
Which counfel mall we follow ? — that which fays r 
Get wealth — by honeft ?neans, if times allow ,• 
If not, why—get but wealth, no matter how, — 
That placed a few rows nearer you may gaze, 
With finger in each eye, at Pupius' plays, — 
Or that which bids us fcorning power and place 
Proudly defy pert Fortune to the face. 

Should the Town afk me why, as we repair 
To the fame mall and breathe one common air, 
I fcruple to adopt its judgments too — 
Shun what they loathe and love what they purme^,. 
Mine be the anfwer which fly Reynard gave 
To the fick Lion : " Sire, I dread your cave, 
" Well knowing, from the footfteps that remain, 
" Many go in, but none come out again." 
Befides, pray what fhould I purfue, or whom r 
How pleafe that many-headed hydra, Rome ? 
Some farm the public works ; fome kindly bent 
Accommodate their friends at cent-per-cent ;. 
Some to rich widows pay obfequious court, 
Or catch and keep old culls for future fport. 

However, grant the world what it requires ; 
Give each his own purfuits — his own defires : 
But are there who perfift one hour the fame, 



e. i. The Epistles. 147 

Nor praife this moment what the next they blame ? 

" No place like Baiae," mould the rich man fay, 

" No fpot on earth can equal that fweet bay;" — 

The lake and fea in half-form'd piers record 

The fudden zeal of their enamour'd lord. 

Caprice foon gives the word — his paffion cools, 

And — " Off to-morrow, workmen, with your tools 

To fnug Teanum ! " — Has he woo'd a wife ? 

Then—" Oh the pleafures of a fingle life !" 

Is he a flranger to the genial bed ? 

Then none, be fure, are wife but thofe that wed ! 

Oh fay, what hand can grafp, what knot can bind 

This ever-varying Proteus of the mind ? 

Well, but the poor — does he too change his plan ? 

Hear, and fupprefs your laughter if you can. 

He fhifts his couch, his room five flories high, 

His barber and his bath — yet knows not why : 

He hires a boat and feels the naufea rife 

Soon as the man whofe yacht's proud flreamer flies* 

You fmile if perad venture on my hair 
Some uncouth hand has tried its fkill : you flare 
If but the gown fets ill in which I'm drefl, 
Or a fmart coat half hides a threadbare veil. 
But what if pafTions in diforder roll, 
If frantic whims diforganize the foul^ 
If inclination with itfelf at flrife 
Throws into one wild chaos all my life, 
Now building up, now razing to the ground, 
Now changing round for fquare or fquare for round, 
Seeks what it fpurn'd — rejects what late it fought, 
One everlafling ebb and flow of thought ? 
'Tis but the fit, you think, that comes awhile 
And goes — and fo you neither flare nor fmile : 



148 The Epistles. b. i. 

" No need," you fay, " to name truftees ; no need 
" In fuch a common cafe to cup or bleed." 
Is this my patron, guardian, guide, and friend ? 
This he to whom I look, on whom depend ? 
This he who at a tatter'd fleeve turns pale, 
And cavils at the cutting of a nail? 

To fum up all — the fage is every thing, 
All but a god and ' every inch a king ; ' — 
Gifted with honour, beauty, freedom, wealth, 
And (pleafe the rheum to fpare him) fpecial health. 



EPISTLE II. 

To Lollius, Horace illuft rates his opinion that 

Homer excels the Philofophers in his precepts, and 
then acls the Mentor him/elf. 

WHILE in the fchools at Rome, you, Lollius ! 
plead, 
I at Prasnefte with new rapture read 
The tale of Troy divine, whofe facts declare 
Where moral fitnefs lies — expedience where, 
Better than all the logic of the fage, 
Than Crantor's precepts or Chryfippus' page. 
Afk you wherein our bard inftructs fo well ? 
If time permit, give audience while I tell. 

When he records the flow-confuming ftrife 
That Greece encounter'd for a treacherous wife, 
His glowing pencil paints what mifchief fprings 
From the mad broils of nations and of kings. 
Antenor would the cause of war remove : 



e. ii. The Epistles. 149 

Fond Paris deems the world well loft for love. 

Neftor in all the majefty of age 

Steps forth by fapient counfel to afluage 

The wrath that 'twixt the royal chieftains rofe, 

Wrath better mown againft their common foes ; — 

In vain : — To pride and paflion each holds true ; 

And while the monarchs rave, the people rue. 

By envy, faction, luft, and fraud they fin 

Alike without Troy's bulwarks and within. 

What a firm foul and valorous heart avail 
Mark in the hero of his fecond tale, — 
Who, when the Trojan towers in dull were laid, 
Saw various realms and well their manners weigh'd, — 
And, toiling long his native ihore to gain, 
Stem'd countlefs hardfhips on the ftormy main, — 
Firm in adverfity, in peril brave, 
And buoyant upon Fortune's rougheft wave. 
You know the Sirens' fong and Circe's draught, 
Which had he with his crew unguarded quaff'd, 
A harlot's flave he had been doom'd to pine 
Sunk in the fenfelefs hound or wallowing fwine. 
See pictured in the revelling fuitor-train 
The fenfual, the voluptuous, and the vain ! 
Mark the fpruce fribbles of Alcinous' court, 
Soft fons of floth dhTolved in amorous fport, 
Who fnored till midnoon, and to melting airs 
Lull'd in delicious trance life's anxious cares ! 
How many ftill with thefe poor idlers vie, 
Born but to eat and drink and fleep and die ! 

Rogues watch by night the traveller to enthrall ; 
And will not you awake to fave your all ? 
Who will not walk while healthy, will be fain 
To run when dropfy fwells in every vein. 



150 The Epistles. b. i. 

And you, unlefs you will (while yet you may) 

Call for a book and lamp 'ere break of day, 

And calling drowfy lethargy behind 

To high and heavenly ftudies gird your mind, 

Shall confcience-ftung unwilling vigils keep 

Or with heart-gnawing paffions watch and weep, — 

Haunted with love, depreft with deep chagrin, 

Or writhing in the agonies of fpleen. 

How ftrange is this ! if ought the eye offends, 

You flraight remove it and the anguifh ends ; 

If ought corrodes the mind, fome flight pretence 

Serves to protract the cure a twelve-month hence. 

In virtue's race to ftart is half to win ; 

Come then, be wife — take courage and begin! 

He that defers life's talk from day to day, 

Is like the fimple clown who thought to Hay 

Till the full Hream that ftopt him Ihould be gone : — 

Alas ! the tide ftill rolls and ever will roll on ! 

For gold to portion'd nymphs we plight the vow ; 
For gold the woodlands fret beneath our plough, 
Nathlefs who's rich, that is not fatisrled ? — 
Who poor, but he whofe wants are unfupplied r 
Never did houfe, or land, or gold afford 
An hour's Ihort refpite to their lickening lord, 
Soothe with foft balm the fever's throbbing fmart, 
Or pluck one rooted forrow from the heart. 
If health be wanting, riches quickly cloy ; 
'Tis vain to hoard, unlefs we can enjoy. 
Who frets or covets, wealth can pleafe no more 
Than pictures him whofe eyes with rheum run o'er — 
Than furs and flannels can the cripple cheer, 
Or warbling mufic charm an aching ear. 
Life's every relilh lies beyond his power, 



e. ii. The Epistles. 151 

As in the tainted veflel all turns four. 

Spurn empty pleafures ; little is the gain 

Of luxury purchafed at the price of pain. 

Draw fome fix'd line where your defires may reft : 

Th' infatiate mifer ever is diftrefT'd. 

Pale envy fees a neighbour's happier plight, 

Eyes it afkance and fickens at the fight. 

No torment could Sicilian tyrants find 

To rack the frame as envy racks the mind> 

He that takes fire at infults never meant 

And gives the rein to wrath, will foon repent, 

Curfing in bitternefs of foul the blow 

That burft in vengeance on his fancied foe. 

Think what remorfe ungovern'd anger brews, 

Grows by negledl, and unfubdued fubdues. 

'Tis a fhort madnefs : calm the riling fit ; 

Curb it betimes, and tame it to your bit. 

The mettled courfer under flricl: manege 

Train'd while a colt to droop his haughty rage, 

Is fchool'd by flow degrees man's will to know, 

And goes the way his rider bids him go. 

The flag-hound, from what time at inflincYs call 

He bay'd the buck-fkin in his mailer's hall, 

Learnt at the bugle's note to fcour the plain 

And in the wild-wood ferved a long campaign. 

Would you be wife, — imbibe in earliefl youth 

Inftrufrion's lore, and fuck the milk of truth. 

Whatever juice the virgin cafk imbue, 

It keeps the favour which it drank while new. 

Such are the rules which I would fain enforce ; 
By fuch, at leafl, I'll fleer my fleady courfe; 
Lag thofe behind who will, or take the lead — 
I neither bide their floth, nor emulate their fpeed. 



152 The Epistles. b. i, 



EPISTLE III. 

To Julius Florus then with Tiberius (afterwards 
Emperor) in Syria. 

TELL me, dear Florus ! in what coafts afar 
Does Casfar's itep-fon launch the bolts of war f 
Tread ye the confines Hill of Thracian ground, 
Where Hebrus halts in icy fetters bound ? — 
Or fpan the ftreights that part the turrets twain, 
Or cling to Afia's hills and rich champaign ? 
Say, too, what works engage the letter'd corps ? 
What bold adventurer 'mid the fons of lore 
Records great Casfar's deeds in deathlefs page, 
And hands his glories to a diftant age ? 
What news of dear Septimius, fure 'erelong 
To rife the theme of every Roman tongue, — 
That bard who fcorning with indignant look 
To fip the mallow pool and vulgar brook, 
Drank deep at once of the Pindaric well, 
And fmote with Latian hand the Theban fhell ?- 
Is he in health ? and does he condefcend 
To caft fome thoughts upon his abfent friend ? 
Does he prefer to pour the raptured rhime 
Waking the {lumbering lyre to themes fublime, — 
Or fwell the gorgeous phrafe with Tragic art, 
'Till pity melt or horror thrill the heart ? 

How fares my Celfus, whom again 'twere fit 
We warn to fearch at home for native wit, 
Nor with bold hand appropriate to himfelf 



e. in. The Epistles. 153 

What once has deck'd Apollo's facred fhelf, 
Left, when the fowls their feveral plumes reclaim, 
The jack-daw ftripp'd be put to open fhame ? 

What banks of wild-thyme do you flutter o'er ? 
What new-found fweets on bufy wing explore ? 
Yours is no vulgar genius ; yours a mind 
By nature richly fraught — by art refined. 
Whether you keenly urge a client's caufe 
Or nicely folve fome riddle of the laws, 
Or in bold numbers build the matchlefs fong, 
To you the ivy's richeft wreaths belong. 
And, could you leave the world's low cares behind, 
Thofe balms corrofive that benumb the mind, 
To Virtue's brighter crown you would effay 
And tread where heaven-born wifdom points the way. 
This be our work — our early tafk and late, — 
This the chief prize purfued by fmall and great, 
If life's declining moments we would cheer, — 
If to our country and ourfelves be dear ! 

Inform me, likewife, if at length you view 
Munatius with the kindnefs which is due 
To his deferts ? or does foft friendfhip's band, 
So rudely rent by frowning Difcord's hand, 
Refufe to reunite, and, knit in vain, 
On every flight fufpicion burft again ? 
Whether ye err through the warm blood of youth 
Or deafnefs to the facred voice of truth, — 
Where'er ye dwell, too generous both and good 
To break the hallow'd league of brotherhood, 
And worthy both with nobler heats to burn, — 
Know that a votive fleer awaits your wifh'd return. 



154 The Epistles. b. i. 



EPISTLE IV. 

To Albius Tibullus, the Poet, at his villa near 
Tivoli, 

ALBIUS, dear candid critic of my lays ! 
How in your Pedian villa pafs your days I 
Labours your pen to match the bulky tomes 
Of Tufcan Camus ? or in filence roams 
Your ftep o'er dewy lawn and breezy wood, 
Mufmg on what befits the wife and good ? 
You had, if memory fails me not, a mind 
Fair as the frame in which it was enihrined. 
The gods have given you wealth, and (what is more) 
Have given you wifdom to enjoy your ftore. 
And could the fondeft nurfe imploring blifs 
On her dear follling, afk for more than this — 
A mind with fterling fenfe by nature fraught, 
And a free tongue to fpeak the inward thought, 
Health, fame, and public favour, with a board 
Decently plenteous and a purfe well-ftored ? 
'Mid hopes and fears and pafTion's ftormy ftrife 
Think every day that dawns, the laft of life: 
Thus fhall each hour that lengthens nature's treat, 
By coming unexpected, come more fweet. 
Me, when you wifh to laugh away dull care, 
You'll find, as ufual, blithe and debonair, 
With fair round carcafe and mirth-beaming eye, 
A genuine fwine of Epicurus' fly. 



e. v. The Epistles. 155 



EPISTLE V. 

To Torquatus, whom Horace invites to afeaft in honor 
of the birthday of Auguftus. 

IF, dear Torquatus ! you can reft your head 
On couches fuch as homely Archias made, 
Nor on a dim of fimple pot-herbs frown, 
I mall expect you as the fun goes down. 
Wine you ihall quaff fuch as the grapes afford 
Between Minturnae and Petrinum, ftored 
In Taurus' fecond year. If to your fhare 
Fall better, fend it; or — fupport the chair. 
All things are fpruce and trim my guefl to greet, 
The hearth well-burnilh'd and the fide-board neat. 
A truce with carking care ! bid Mofchus' caufe 
Wait for a feafon, and adjourn the laws, 
To morrow, recollect, the courts mull clofe ; 
'Tis C?efar's birth-day, facred to repofe. 
Without a fcruple till the morning's light 
We'll wear in jocund chat the fummer night. 
What boots that fortune whence no joy accrues ? 
Or what's to me the wealth I mull not ufe ? 
'Tis little Ihort of madnefs fure, to fpare 
And fcramble only to enrich one's heir. 
Rather let's fcatter flowers and quaff at eafe, 
And leave grave fools to cavil as they pleafe ! 
What magic wonders cannot toping do ? . . 

It drags the fmother'd fecret forth to view ; 
Prefents fair hopes by glowing fancy feal'd ; 



156 The Epistles. b. i. 

Bids the poltroon rufh to th' embattled field ; 
Takes from the drooping heart its load of pain ; 
And with ftrange lore informs the blockhead's brain : 
What tongue but flows with eloquence divine, — 
What beggar but will ring, infpired by wine ? 

Be mine the not unwelcome tafk to fee 
That every couch and cloth from duft be free ; 
That not a napkin's dirt the board difgrace ; 
That every difh and cup reflect your face ; 
That 'mid the well-aflbrted group be found 
No ipy to blab the mirth that circles round; 
That all unite well-pleafed with one another, 
And that each gueft behold in each a brother. 
Good Butra and Septimius will be there ; 
Sabinus too, if no more tempting fair 
Or feafl detain him. Room we can afford 
For fome friends' friends ; but an o'ercrowded board 
Offends nice nerves. How many is your fuite 
You mean to bring, write back ; and (I repeat) 
A truce with toil, give gloomy bufmefs o'er, 
And balk your client at the poftern door. 



EPISTLE VI. 

To Numicius. — On the true four ce cfhappinefs, 

TO look at nothing with admiring eyes, — 
In this fhort precept, dear Numicius ! lies 
The art of human happinefs compreiT'd, — 
The one fure way to make and keep us bleft. 



. 



e. vi. The Epistles. 157 

Yon moon and ftars that fhoot a trembling ray, 

The glad viciffitudes of night and day, 

The fun, the feafons true to nature's law — 

There are who view untouch'd with wondering awe. 

What deem you then of earth's inferior flores, 

Of ocean's treafures pour'd on Indian fhores, 

Of place and pomp and Rome's applauding noife — 

With what indifference mould we view fuch toys ! 

Who fears their oppofites, or who defires 
The things themfelves, in either cafe admires. 
Each fixing on vain mow a vacant eye 
Stares at he knows not what — he knows not why : 
Whether we loathe or covet, laugh or mourn, 
No matter, if, alike by paffion borne, 
Each object that belies what fancy drew 
Entrance the fenfes and arreft the view. 

Ev'n virtue follow'd beyond reafon's rule 
May ftamp the juft man knave — the fage a fool. 
Hear this, ye vain ! then greet with fond applaufe 
The fculptured filver or the Parian vafe : — 
Pore on fome bronze antique with ravifh'd eye, 
Or grafp the glittering gem and Tyrian dye : — 
Rejoice that at the waving of your hand 
With eager gaze a liftening rabble ftand : — 
Off to the courts betimes at intereft's call, 
Nor thence retire 'till evening's fhadows fall, 
Left upftart Mutus (oh the foul difgrace !) 
Eclipfe the glories of your nobler race, — 
His dotal your paternal farms outdo, 
And fo you crouch to him — not he to you. 

All-changing time now darkens what was bright, 
Now ufhers out of darknefs into light. 
Flaunt in the mall and flutter as you may, 



158 The Epistles. b. i. 

Or fcour with whirling wheel the Appian way, — 
Known or obfcure, you mull with all your care 
Defcend where Numa and old Ancus are. 

If fharp diflemper riot in your reins, 
You feek by med'cine's aid to foothe its pains. 
Would you (who would not ?) live by reafon's laws 
And gain true blifs ? — Firft afcertain the caufe. 
Can Virtue only grant the wihVd-for end, 
Roufe and to her your manlieft efforts bend. 
Is fhe but words which fools would ftrive to fix, 
As hallow'd groves are after all but Hicks ? 
Be firft to run to port, fpread all your fails, 
Foreftall the market, watch your Phrygian bales ; 
Add ufe to principal and fum to fum, 
And toil 'till you have raifed a fair round plum : 
Proceed to double this — nay flop not there; 
Triple it then — and then complete the fquare. 
For why — a portion'd wife, fair fame, and friends,.. 
Beauty and birth on fovereign Wealth attends. 
Blefl is her vot'ry throned his bags among ! 
Perfuafion's felf fits perch'd upon his tongue ; 
Love beams in every feature of his face, 
And every geflure beams celeflial grace. 
Avoid the Cappadocian monarch's curfe, 
Who, rich in flaves, is pennilefs in purfe. 
Lucullus once being afk'd (the flory goes) 
For five-fcore cloaks of frize to grace the fhows, — 
Five-fcore ! he cried ; you over-rate my powers : 
But P II inquire s and what I have, are yours. 
Next day he writes — " there were within his call 
" Five thoufand — they might take a part or all ! ' M 
No houfe is rich but that, where much o'erflows 
Which varlets rifle and no mailer knows. 



e. vi. The Epistles. 159 

If wealth, then, leads to pure and lalting blifs, 
This be your earlieft tafk — your lateft this ! 

If influence and the people's favour claims 
The prize, let's hire a flave to tell their names, 
And prompt us when to bow and whom to greet 
With ready fmile acrofs the crowded ftreet : 
" Thefe in the Fabian tribe fome votes command, 
<' Thofe in the Veline ; prithee llretch your hand. 
" This great man gives thtfafcesj that — beware — 
" From whom he will withholds the ivory chair." 
Carefs them all : call one your friend ; another 
Hail father, as his years may fuit, or brother. 

If he alone lives well who is well fed, 
See, morning dawns ; up, fluggard, from your bed ! 
Forth to the fhambles, fifh and flefh provide, 
True blifs your aim and gluttony your guide ! 
Hunt as Gargilius did, who through the throng 
With nets and poles each morning pufti'd along, 
That that fame throng might fee the long-drawn train 
With one poor pur chafed boar fneak back again. 
Then bathe replete with undigefted food, 
Deaf to the cenfure of the wife and good. 
Forfeit your franchife : Let UlyfTes' crew, 
Who fcorn'd their home for luxury, yield to you. 

If without love and dalliance life can give 
(As lings Mimnermus) no delight, why — live 
In love and dalliance. In a word, whate'er 
Can make life happier!, point your efforts here. 
Farewell ! and if my doctrine feem amifs, 
With candour fet me right : — if not* take this I 



160 The Epistles. b. i. 



EPISTLE VII. 

To Macenas. — On the wifdom of Contentment. 

PLEDGED in the country but five nights to ftay — 
Auguft is pall, and lo ! I ftill delay, 
Falfe to my word. But if, dear fir, you care 
To fee me in good plight and debonair, 
That licenfe which you grant me fick, I know 
You'll not deny me fearing to be fo, — 
Now that pale Autumn marfhals forth again 
The undertaker with his rueful train, — 
While each fond mother with diffraction wild 
Hangs o'er the pillow of her fickening child, — 
While levees throng'd and law-courts never ftill 
Let loofe the fever and unfeal the will. 
But when autumnal drought to winter yields 
And drifting fnows have bleach'd th' Albanian fields, 
Down to the fea your poet will retire 
To read in comfort couch'd befide the fire ; 
Anon, when zephyrs breathe and fwallows fing, 
To greet his patron with returning fpring. 

Your kindnefs, fir, to me, is really kind ; — 
Not like the boons of fome Calabrian hind 
With fulfome zeal that will not be reprefFd 
Forcing his pears upon his fated gueft. 
Come, eat them, pray! — " I've eaten all I would." 
Then pocket what you pleafe. — " You're very good." 
Tour infant tribe would deem them no bad ftore. 
" I'm as obliged as if I took a fcore." 



e. vii. The Epistles. 161 

Well 9 pleafe yourfelf ; but know, what you decline 
Will fall 'ere night a portion to the /wine. 
The fpendthrift and the fool are fo polite, 
They give to others what they hate or flight ; 
And where love's feed is fown with hand fo rude, 
No wonder if the crop 's ingratitude. 
The good and wife, though anxious to uphold 
True worth, yet wot that lupines are not gold. 
For me, I ever mail be proud to raife 
My worth in juftice to my patron's praife : 
But, would you have me never quit your fide, 
Firft give me back thofe locks whofe jetty pride 
Once clufter'd o'er my brow in gallant trim ; — 
Give back the well-fining nerve and vigorous limb ;— 
With that gay converfe and thofe fpirits light 
That o'er the bowl deplored coy Cynara's flight. 

A Fox's whelp one day half-familh'd flole 
Into a corn-bin through a narrow hole ; 
Where having gorged his fill, he flrove in vain 
To fqueeze his bloated carcafe out again : 
Friend, cried a weazel near, firft mend your Jhape ; 
Tou entered lean, and lea7i you muft efcape. 
Should Fortune ever, on this footing, call 
Her favours back, I could refign them all ; 
Nor, capon-fed, with hypocritic air 
Would I preach up the peafant's frugal fare ; 
Nor mould the wealth of all Arabia pleafe, 
Tax'd with the lofs of liberty and eafe. 

Oft have you praifed me as of modeft views, 
More prompt to laud your bounty than abufe ; 
Oft in your prefence, nor lefs oft away, 
As my liege-lord I've hail'd your gentle fway. 
Try me — and (though with thanks received) you'll find 

M 



162 The Epistles. b. i. 

Your gifts can be with cheerfulnefs reiign'd. 

Well did UlyfTes' Ton, as poets fing, 

Thank for his profFer'd fleeds the Spartan king : — 

" The rocky ifland whence I drew my birth, 

" Albeit to me the lovelier! fpot on earth, 

" Nor flretch'd in plains nor rich in graffy food 

t€ Is ill-adapted for the equine brood : 

" Wherefore I would renounce, if you permit, 

< c Thofe boons, good monarch ! for yourfelf more fit." 

Small things become the fmall : for me Rome's noife 

And pomp imperial now prefent no joys, 

Far more difpofed to dream away the hours 

In Tibur's peaceful ihades or foft Tarentum's bowers. 

Philippus, for his pleadings famed afar, 
Alert and bold, returning from the Bar 
About the hour of two one fultry day, 
And now complaining that the length of way 
Grew for his years too much, efpied ('tis faid) 
A fmug-faced cit beneath a barber's ihed 
Paring his nails with eafy unconcern ; — 
Then call'd his lackey — u Boy, flep in and learn 
ie Who this may be — his family — his fame — 
"" Where he refides — and what's his patron's name." 
The lad (by name Demetrius) lack'd not ikill 
Or promptnefs to difpatch his mailer's will. 
He flies — returns — informs him in a trice, 
'Twas one Vulteius Mena, pure from vice, 
Of humble means, by trade an auctioneer, 
Who bullied to and fro to raife the gear, 
Lounged when his daily toils were at an end, 
Was fain to get, but not afraid to fpend ; — 
Mix'd with acquaintance of his own degree, 
Had a fix'd dwelling, and enjoy 'd with glee 



e. vii. The Epistles. 163 

The public fhows ; or, when his work was done, 

In Mars's field at Tennis would make one. 

€€ Troth, I mould like to know the wight ; go, fay 

" I mould be glad he'd dine with me to-day." 

Mena, the meflage heard, in mute furprife 

Stares, and can fcarce believe his ears and eyes ; 

Begs his devout acknowledgments, — in fum 

Feels flatter 'd and obliged, but cannot come. 

" How! does the wretch then flight me ?" — Even j'o, 

And through contempt or jhynefs anfwers, no. 

Next morning, as Philippus flrolls along, 

He 'fpies Vulteius to a tunic'd throng 

Vending cheap wares, and, having crofT'd the ftreet, 

Makes toward his client and is firit to greet. 

He, humbly bowing, pleads the ties of trade 

And bufinefs, that he had not early paid 

His compliments ; ev'n now, in toils immerfed, 

Is fhock'd to think he had not hail'd him firft. 

" On one condition be your pleas allow'd — 

•* Dine with me to-day." — Sir, I Jhall be proud. 

" Enough — you'll come at the ninth hour; 'till which 

" Go, ply your trade and labour to be rich." 

The hour arrives — he goes — and, having faid 

Some wifdom and fome foolery, hies to bed. 

Day after day when thus he kindly took 

The flattering bait and nibbled round the hook> 

A morning dangler now and conftant gueft ; 

What time the Latian feflival gives reft 

To wrangling law-courts, he's invited down 

To fee his patron's feat not far from town, 

Perch'd in the chaife, he lauds in terms moft high 

The golden crops, green lawns, and Sabine fky. 

Philippus, much diverted all the while, 



164 The Epistles. b. i. 

Sees his fcheme work and {qqs it with a fmiie, 
Refolved with all chance paflime care to drown. 
In mort, feven thoufand fefterces paid down, 
With feven more proffer'd at an eafy rate, 
Tempt him to buy and farm a mug effete . 
'Tis bought ; and (not to fpin my ftory out) 
The fmart cit drops into the runic lout; — 
He prattles of his tilth and vines — prepares 
His elms — and launches in a fea of cares, 
Stung to the quick with gain's deluiive itch 
And pining with the thirft of waxing rich. 
Soon after (mark the change !) night-plunderers feize 
His lambs ; his me goats perifh with difeafe ; 
Now blighted harvefts mock his hopes ; and now 
The jaded ox drops dead beneath his plough. 
Teafed with his loifes, curling fortune's fpite, 
Snatching his nag at the mid hour of night, 
Half-frantic to his patron's feat he goes, 
Unfhorn, with fqualid garb that fpeaks his woes. 
cc How now ! " Philippus cries, " Your looks are fuch, 
" I fear you drudge too hard and toil too much." 
Troth, patron I to this merit I've no claim ; 
Wretched I am, and that's my proper name. 
Then oh ! by all the ties of faith and love, 
By all your boons, and by the powers above , 
Kind fir ! I do conjure you and implore. 
Replace me in my priftine ft ate once more. 

The moral of my tale is briefly this : 
Let him who finds that he has changed amifs, 
And that his promifed joy turns out but pain, 
With all convenient fpeed change back again ! 
'Tis a found, rule that each man has his pleafure, 
And each mould mete himfelf by his own meafure. 



e. viii. The Epistles. 165 



EPISTLE VIII. 

To Celfus Albinovanus. 

GO, Mufe ! to Nero's fcribe my heart exprefs, 
And wifh my Celfus health and happinefs. 
If of my own concerns he afk, reply 
That never wretch was more forlorn than I, — 
Who, hourly framing projects fair and good, 
Yet live nor as I ought nor as I would : 
Not that my olive-groves or vineyards fail 
Pinch'd by the drought or fhatter'd by the hail ; 
Nor that my herds in diftant paftures fed, 
Seized with the murrain, droop the dying head : 
But that, devour'd with morbid fpleen, I find 
My body far lefs fickly than my mind, — 
And worfe than all corporeal aches endure, 
Yet proudly fcorn to learn the means of cure ! — 
Rave at the kind phyiicians of my foul 
Whofe med'cine might reftore me found and whole ; 
And curfe the friends who eagerly advance 
To wake and roufe me from this deadly trance ; — 
That, frill irrefolute and flill perverfe, 
I loathe the better and embrace the worfe ; 
At Rome for Tibur pine, — then pofting down 
To Tibur, change my mind and pine for Town. 

Thus much, my Mufe ! in piteous accents tell : 
Then fhift the theme, and afk if he be well, — 
If profperous ; — above all, if he remain 
In favour with the Prince and with his train. 



i66 The Epistles. b. i. 

If to his wifh, fay firfl that I rejoice : 
Then whifper in his ear with gentle voice 
This fober counfel : — Celfus, have a care ; 
" We fhall bear you, as you your fortune bear." 



EPISTLE IX. 

To Tiberius, (afterwards Emperor) to whom Horace 
recommends his friend Septimius. 

*' I MS ftrange Septimius, fir! alone lhould feem 
JL To know the rank I hold in your efteem : 
For when he teafes me with urgent prayer 
To recommend him to brave Nero's care, 
As worthy of a place beneath that roof 
Where all but merit ever ftands aloof; — 
When he affigns fuch weight to my good word, 
As of a favourite that muft needs be heard ; — 
My friend, I muft confefs, both fees and knows 
More than myfelf, how far my influence goes. 
Much in excufe I urged and long held out : 
At length a fear occurr'd which clofed my doubt, — 
The fear left I might feem through mere fineife 
To under-rate the influence I pofTefs, 
Feigning a power ftill lefs than was my own 
From a mean wifh to ferve myfelf alone. 

Thus, to ihake off a heavier charge, I now 
To courtly arrogance compofe my brow. 
Yet, fir! if your indulgence can commend 
This little breach of ihame to ferve a friend, 
That friend enroll among your chofen few 
And truft him for a good man and a true I 



e. x. The Epistles. 16 



EPISTLE X. 

To Fufcus Ariftius, a Poet and Orator who preferred 
a Town life, Horace writes inpraife of the Country. 

HEALTH to my Fufcus in the town fo blefl — 
Health from his friend who loves the country 
In this one point of widely different creed, [bell ! 
In others no twin-brethren more agreed ; 
Of kindred tafle, like fond old turtle doves, 
Whatever either likes, the other loves. 
You keep the nefl ; — I praife the rural fhade, 
The mofs-grown rock, clear brook, and woodland 
In fhort, I live — I reign — when I retire [glade : 
From all that you town-lovers fo admire ; 
And, like fome flave from the priefl's fervice fled, 
Cloy'd with rich cakes, I long for wholefome bread. 

If to conform to Nature's rules be right, 
Then — for a dwelling would you chufe a lite — 
Where can a fitter lovelier fpot be found 
Than in the fields where plenty fmiles around ? 
Where blows the wintry blafl lefs frore ? or where 
Do frefher breezes fan the fultry air, 
What time the Dog-ilar glows with maddening ire 
And the chafed Lion fets the world on fire ? 
Where do malignant paflions lefs molefl 
And chafe foft {lumber from the care-worn breafl ? 
Does the green turf lefs charm the fmell or fight 
Than gaudy floors with Libyan marbles pight ? 
Is water, which through lead from flreet to ilreet 



168 The Epistles. b. i. 

Heaves fullenly and flow, more pure or fweet 
Than that which gurgling from the fountain-head 
Sports in meanders o'er its pebbly bed ? 

Their airy height where ftreaky columns rear, 
The fhrub is taught to wave its foliage near ; 
And praife awaits the dome whofe front commands 
An ample view of lawns and cultured lands. 
Thus, chafe her out of doors — do what you will — 
Nature renews the charge and triumphs Hill ; 
Spurns the weak barriers which caprice would lay 
Athwart her courfe, and boldly burfts her way. 

Not to the merchant, whofe unpra&ifed eye 
Knows not Aquinum's from the Tyrian dye, 
More galling croftes or more fure enfue, 
Than to the man who takes falfe joys for true. 
Who prizes fortune at too high a rate, 
Will fhrink with horror at an alter'd ftate. 
What's grafp'd with ecftafy, is loft with pain : 
View then the pomp of grandeur with difdain. 
The ftraw-roof'd fhed more comfort may beftow 
Than monarchs or their minions e'er can know. 

It chanced that after many a well-fought bout 
The Stag contrived to put the Horfe to rout ; 
'Till, from his paflure driven, the foe thought fit 
To afk the aid of man and took the bit. 
He conquer 'd ; but, his triumph o'er, began 
To find he could make oiFnor bit nor man. 
Such is the fate of him who, if he pleafe, 
Might reft in humble competence and eafe* 
Yet through the dread of penury has fold 
That independence which furpafTes gold. 
Henceforth he'll ferve a tyrant for his pains, 
And ftand or budge as avarice pulls the reins* 



e. x. The Epistles. 169 

Whene'er our wants iquare ill with our eilate, 
Be it or very fmall or very great, 
'Tis like an ill-made fhoe which gives a fall 
If 'tis too large, and pinches if too fmall. 
Be then, my Fufcus ! wife : enjoy your ftore ; 
But check the ever-reftlefs wifh for more. 
Prize what you have — difdain what you have not, 
And live contented with your deflined lot. 
Me too reprove, whene'er I feem in queft 
Of more than is enough, and know no reft : 
That lucre, fince it muft be flave or lord, 
May rather bear, than pull, the fervile cord. 

This near Vacuna's mouldering fhrine I penn'd, 
Well-pleafed, and wanting nothing — fave my friend. 



EPISTLE XL 

To Bullatius, who was travelling to dijjtpate ennui. 

HOW fares my friend Bullatius ? has the more 
Of Chios or famed Lefbos charm'd him more ? 
Does Samos, lovely iile, his fancy meet, — 
Or Sardis, once the Lydian monarch's feat? 
Is Smyrna more, or Colophon, his care ! 
Belie they, or furpafs, the fame they bear ? 
Or muft they all for fober luxury yield 
To Tiber's wave and Mars's funny field ? 
Of thofe fair towns has he felected one 
Where Attalus in eaftern fplendour fhone ? 
Or, tired of rocky feas and rugged ways, 
Does he thus chaunt of Lebedos the praife ? 



170 The Epistles. b. i. 

" You know lone Lebedos, — more calm and flill 

" Than Gabii or Fidenae ; yet my will 

tc Tempts me to fettle in that peaceful fpot, 

' ' My friends forgetting — by my friends forgot, 

cf Where fafe on ihore I may behold afar 

" The howling furge and elemental war." 

Yet he that polls through mire and rain to Rome 
From Capua, will not make an inn his home ; 
Nor, if one bathe perchance to cure a cold, 
Will he forthwith the Hove and bagnio hold 
Of human blifs the one fure recipe; 
Neither, if toft by a rude fquall at fea, 
Should you your fhip acrofs the ^Egean fell. 
Trull: me, my friend, to him that's found and well 
Delicious Rhodes and Mitylene fair 
Like furs in June or filks in winter are, — 
Tiber to fwimmers during froft and fog, 
Or in mid Autumn's drought the blazing log. 
Spend then, while fortune fmiles, at Rome your days ; 
There, if you will, Rhodes, Chios, Samos praife. 
Accept with grateful heart each joyous hour 
Which bounteous heaven mall place within your 

power ; 
Live while you may ; feize pleafure while 'tis near ; 
Nor put enjoyment off from year to year; 
That you may fay, where'er your lot be call, 
My life according to my wifh has paft. 
For if 'tis wifdom gives content and eafe — 
Not a fair profpecl: of expanded feas, 
Who roam abroad from ihore to lhore, fhall find 
They change the climate only, not the mind. 
Idly alert we traverfe fea and land 
In quell of happinefs that lies at hand. 



e. xi. The Epistles. 171 

Let but good fenfe each fretful whim controul 
And tranquillize the tumults of the foul, 
'Tis here — 'tis anywhere : you cannot mifs ; 
And Umbras may prove the feat of blifs. — 



EPISTLE XII. 

To his friend Iccius — a letter of advice. 

ICCIUS ! the fruits of fair Sicilia's lands 
Placed by Agrippa in your trufly hands 
If you enjoy aright, not Jove's own power 
Could in your bofom greater affluence fhower. 
Hum then vain murmurs — throw complaint afide ! 
He ne'er is poor, whofe wants are well fupplied. 
PorTefPd of health and food and raiment, know 
Arabia's treafures can no more beflow. 
If, with the choiceft viands on your board, 
Wild herbs and roots your homely fare afford, 
That fare were ftill the fame, though fortune roll'd 
Into your lap a flood of liquid gold, 
Or becaufe nature fhifts not at the call 
Of wealth, or virtue forms you all in all. 
That fwine confumed Democritus's corn 
While far on fancy's wing his foul was borne, 
Seems now no longer ftrange, — when you retain, 
Plunged in the murrain and mid peft of gain, 
Your old purfuits ; and, fpurning earth's low clime, 
Can foar to fpeculate on themes fublime : 
As, — What dark caufe confines the fwelling tides ; — 
What in their courfe the varying feafons guides; — 



172 The Epistles. b. i, 

Whether yon liars in heaven's wide concave roll 
Drifted by chance or urged by ftrong controul ; — 
What myftic influence bids the queen of night 
Now veil her orb and now difclofe her light ; — 
What that difcordant union which appears 
To link the world and regulate the fpheres ; — 
Whofe fyftem bell with nature's truth agrees, — 
Which halts, Stertinius or Empedocles. 

However this may be — whether your wifh 
Tend more to llice the leek or flay the nfh, — 
Admit Pompeius Grofphus to your heart, 
And what he afks with willing zeal impart. 
Grofphus will put no bafe or mean requell ; 
And friendfhip's a cheap market, when the bell 
Are overlook'd. — But now, to let you know 
How matters of more public interell go, — ■ 
Agrippa has fubdued Cantabria's fields ; 
To Claudius Nero's fword Armenia yields ; 
Low on his knees Phraates has implored 
The grace of Caefar as his rightful lord ; 
Fled from Italian plains is Famine grim, 
And Plenty pours her horn replenifiVd to the brim. 



e. xiii. The Epistles. 173 



EPISTLE XIII. 

To his friend Vinius, whom he inftrucls as to the 
mode in which he wijhed his Poems to be prefented 
to Auguftus. 

THIS volume, Vinius ! mull (as I before 
Expreffly charged thee and repeat once more), 
Seal'd as it is, be placed in Caefar's hands ; 
Provided firft (obferve my Uriel: commands) 
He be in health — if cheerful be his look— 
Or if in fhort he aik thee for the book ; 
Nor, over-zealous to fulfil thy truft, 
Let pert officioufnefs create difguft. 

If chance my papers, an unwieldy load, 
Prove galling, rather leave them on the road, 
Than, when arrived whither thy fleps are bound, 
Bolt them with eager rudenefs on the ground ; 
Left faucy punfters on thy name refine 
And fwear Afella is right afmine. 

Go, plod thy weary way o'er hill and moor ; 
And, when thou fhalt have reach'd the deftined door, 
Heave not thy bundle with an awkward air, 
Juft as a clown beneath his arm would bear 
A lambkin, — or as Pyrrhia, maudlin fool, 
Bears on the ftage her pilfer'd pack of wool, — 
Or burgefs at my lord's with fheepiih look 
His hat and fandals, — bear not fo my book. 

Though much entreated, halt not by the way : 
Nor to each curious knave, that fifts thee, fay — 



174 The Epistles. b. i 

That on thy back a precious burthen lies 
Worthy to charm great Caefar's ears and eyes. 

Go — fare thee well ! but hark'ye — have a care 
Of ftumbles, left thou mar thy fragile ware !. 



EPISTLE XIV. 

To his Steward, whom Horace gently ridicules for 
his Jicklenefs in becoming tired of the country, for 
which he had fo lately longed. 

DEAR BailifF of the woody wild domain 
Whofe peace reftores me to myfelf again,-^ 
(A fprightlier fcene it feems, thy tafte requires, 
To Varia though it fend five fturdy fires 
The lords of five good houfeholds) — let us fee 
If I from thorns and briars can better free 
My mind, or thou my farm ; and which is found 
In fairer culture, Horace or his ground. 

Me though my Lamia's deep and tender grief 
(Mourning with anguifiVd heart that fcorns relief 
A brother loft — a brother fnatch'd away 
In manhood's prime) tempts to prolong my ftay ; 
My reftlefs foul ftill thither cafts from Rome 
A willful look, as to her proper home ; 
And, like the racer, pants for her difcharge 
To burft the barrier and to roam at large. 
A country-life's the haven of my reft ; 
To thee no mortal but in town feems bleft. 
No wonder, when another's lot alone 
Attracts our wifhes, if we loath our own. 
Differing in tafte, our folly is the fame, 



e, xiv. The Epistles. 175 

While each abfurdly thinks the place to blame, 
Nor fees the fault all in the mind to lie — 
The mind which never from itfelf can fly* 

Erewhile a city-drudge, thy filent prayer 
Was all for country quiet — country air : 
A Bailiff now, thy tafte more fqueamifh grows, 
And pants for town, the bagnios and the mows. 
For me, thou know'ft that free from vain caprice, 
Confiftent with myfelf, and of a piece, 
Whene'er for Rome curft bufmefs bids me ftart, 
I quit the country with a heavy heart. 

Fancy, methinks, has tinged with various dyes 
Things to our view, and here the difference lies. 
What thou abhor'ft as dreary tracklefs dells, 
I hail as lhades where tranquil filence dwells, — 
And deprecate the life which thou would'ft chufe ; 
The greafy cook-fhop, and the fteaming Hews 
Give thee (I fee) a yearning wifh for town, 
And make thee view with a faftidious frown 
That little nook of mine, which would produce 
Sooner, perhaps, than the grape's lufcious juice, 
Pepper or frankincenfe ; — no tavern nigh 
Which may with brimming can thy thirft fupply, — 
No minftrel-wench to whofe foft rebeck's found 
Thou may'ft with lumping footftep beat the ground. 
And yet thou'rt fain to ply thy ruftic toil, — 
To turn with bufy fpade the' unbroken foil, 
Or tend the fleer unharnefFd from the plough, 
And feaft with leaves frefh-gather'd from the bough. 
Oft, fwoln with rain, the brook augments thy care, 
Which mounds muft teach the funny mead to fpare. 

Now learn how much we differ :— I who dreft 
So fmart with perfumed locks and filken veil, — 
I who (thou know'ft) the venal jilt could pleafe 



176 The Epistles. b. i. 

And Cynara's favours won without the fees, — 
I who from midnoon with convivial fouls 
Would fit caroufing o'er Falernian bowls, — 
Now praife the frugal meal and fober glafs, 
With {lumbers near a fountain on the grafs. 
Nor think, I blufh, now that the blood runs cool, 
At follies pair., but frill to play the fool. 
There none my privacy with rancour fpy, 
Nor fcan my comforts with malignant eye : 
The neighbours do but fmile and archly nod 
To fee me turn the ftone or bruife the clod. 

Among the city-flaves thou figh'ft to gnaw 
Their ftinted meal — that way thy wifhes draw : 
Meanwhile the town- drudge envies thee the ufe 
Of what thofe gardens, groves, and herds produce. 
Thus the flow ox, it feems, in earner!: now 
Would wear the faddle, and the pack-horfe plough. 
My counfel is that each contented fit, 
And ply in peace the craft for which he's fit. 



EPISTLE XV. 

To Numonius Vala — of whom Horace makes various 
inquiries regarding the climate and mode of life at 
Velia and Salernum, whither he had been reco?n- 
mended to go for his health. 

HOW blows the wintry breeze on Velia's coaft, 
What balmy fky Salernum has to boafl, 
What race of mortals in thofe regions dwell, 
And what the roads, — all this, my Vala ! tell. 



e. xv. The Epistles. 177 

For know, Antonius, deep in medicine's lore, 
Warns me to court the Baian nymphs no more : 
Indeed their favour I have well-nigh loft, 
Ufing the cold-bath in mid winter's froft ; 
Nor is the village pleafed with one that roves 
In fearch of health from her fair myrtle-groves 
And fpring fulphureous, which (we're told) contains 
Virtue to chafe fharp humours from the veins, 
To Gabii's cooler bowers, and dares to lave 
His head and breaft in Cluiium's gelid wave. 
Perforce then I mult change my route, and learn 
To pufh my nag beyond th' accuftom'd turn : 
" So ho there ! not to Cumae is our courfe 
" Or Baiae now." — Thus haply to his horfe, 
(Whofe ear, you know, in his curbed muzzle lies) 
Twitching the left-hand rein, the rider cries. 

But to return — which tract grows finer flour ; — 
Whether they drink the ciftern-treafured fhower, 
Or draw pure water from the bubbling well ; — 
(For of that country's vintage, truth to tell, 
I reck not much : when on my own loved fpot, 
I fip my fober glafs and care not what ; 
But, when to the fea-iide I hie me down, 
I afk a mellower draught my cares to drown, 
Something that may a genial hope infpire, 
Bid my veins tingle, fet my foul on fire, 
Glow on my tongue, and grace me with the air 
Of youth to flirt with the Lucanian fair) — ■ 
In fine — which coaft with choicer fifh is ftored ; — 
Which can more lev'rets — which more boars afford; 
That thence I may in fleek Phaeacian plight 
Return ; — 'tis mine to credit, yours to write. 

When Maenius had at one fell fwoop got quit 

N 



178 The Epistles. b. i. 

Of his paternal wealth, and turn'd a wit ; 
A vagrant zany prowling to and fro, 
One that {harp-let difcern'd not friend from foe, — 
With foul-mouth'd ribaldry befpattering all, 
The pell — gulph — quagmire of each butcher's Hall ; 
Whatever tit-bit he made lhift to draw 
Within his toils, he gave to his huge maw. 
But if from neither thofe that fear'd the ilnner 
Nor thofe that favour'd, he could fqueeze a dinner, 
Sheep's-head or tripe, at home, plate after plate — 
Enough to furfeit three flarved bears — he ate ; 
And, Beflius-like, of thrift the champion {launch, 
Swore Luxury mould be branded in the paunch. 
But if he pounced upon fome goodlier prey, 
When all foon turn'd to dull and afhes lay, 
" By heaven ! " he'd cry, €€ I marvel not if men 
" Have gormandized their fubilance now and then ; 
" Since the world's wealth is nothing-worth beiide 
" A plump thrufh roafled and fow's-udder fried." 
Such is your friend : — When cofllier viands fail, 
I praife contentment and at grandeur rail ; 
Anon, if peradventure to my mare 
Fall fome Haut-gout — fome more than meagre fare, 
Then— who fo blefl as they whofe wealth abounds 
In glittering feats and princely pleafure-grounds I 



e. xvi. The Epistles. 179 



EPISTLE XVI. 

To Quintius, — A defcription of the Sabine Far?n, 
followed by moral reflections. 

LEST, Quintius ! you inquire if my domain 
Feaft me with olives or enrich with grain, 
Or boaft its orchard, vine-clad elm, or lawn, — 
With prattling pencil fee the landfcape drawn. 
Hills lift their heads in one unbroken chain, 
Save where difparted by a fombre glen, 
Yet fo that this fide greets the morning ray 
While on its left eve's dewy funbeams play. 
The air would charm you. What if round me grow 
On many a bufh the cornel and the floe — 
If oak and ilex lavifhly afford 
Food to my flocks and fhelter to their lord ? 
You'd fwear 'twas but Tarentum brought more near 
To fpread her fhades and wave her foliage here. 
A fpring that to a river might give name, 
Such that not Hebrus fhines in Thracian fame 
More cool or pure, here gently bubbling frees 
Weak heads and fickly flomachs from difeafe. 
Thefe fav'rite (let me add, thefe fair) retreats 
Secure me hale in mid September's heats. 

You live, my friend ! full well, if 'tis your care 
To realize the character you bear ; 
Whom we at Rome with one confent commend 
As bleft in full. But much I apprehend 
Left on this ticklifh fubjedl you be prone 



i8o The Epistles. b. i. 

To truft all judgments rather than your own : 

I fear the fact be not yet underftood 

That none are happy fave the wife and good : 

I fear left, if the world but hail you found, 

You'd fain difguife the fever, when around 

Rich dimes fmoke, 'till fudden death appal 

And from your palfied grafp the goblet fall. 

A falfe and foolifh fhame will often hide 

The feftering fore, when balms mould be applied. 

Should one your victories chaunt by fea and land, 

Your fond ear greeting with thefe accents bland ; — 

" Whether the people more your fafety will 

" Or you the people's, Jove keep doubtful ftill, 

< ' Whofe watchful eye protects both them and you ! " — 

Such praifes, as to Caefar only due, 

You doubtlefs would difclaim. When to the ikies 

Extoll'd, as of confummate worth and wife, 

Does confcience recognife this airy claim, 

As if you anfwer'd to your proper name ? 

" To mine," you fay, " for wifdom and for worth 

" Charms you and me and every foul on earth." 

Yet think — who proffer their good word to day, 

Will, if they lift, to morrow take away : 

Juft as the Fafces, for the flighteft caufe, 

The fame authority, which gave, withdraws. 

Down with your Mace! fay they; *tis our defire : 

I lay it down, look foolifh, and retire. 

Yet, mould that people brand me with the name 

Of thief, denounce me pathic loft to fhame, 

Or fwear I had my father ftrangled — fay, 

Shall I turn pale and fhudder with difmay ? 

Whom but the worthlefs fhould falfe honour charm r 

Whom but the cheat Ihould falfe reproach alarm ? 



e. xvi. The Epistles. 181 

Your upright man is one, who curb'd by awe 
Marks well the ftatute's text, and fleers by law ; 
Whofe balanced judgment many a jury guides ; 
Whofe bail fecures ; whofe evidence decides. 
Yet him friends, neighbours, kindred fee the while 
Without all varnifh and within all guile. 

Suppofe my flave with flippant pertnefs fay — 
/ never robb'd you, Sir ! nor ran away : 
<( Good" — I reply ; " and, if your tale be true, 
" What then? — you are not whipp'd; you have your 

due." 
I'm not a murderer. " Tut — nor one of thofe 
" Deftined to grace a crofs and feafl the crows." 
I'm dutiful and thrifty. Here occurs 
A doubt ; the wary Sabine here demurs : 
<c For why — fly wolves the pitfall fhun with care, 
<€ Pikes the fufpecled hook, and hawks the fnare. 
" The good hate vice, for virtue's fake ; but you, 
" For fear left pains and penalties enfue. 
** Set thele a little out of fight — 'tis plain 
u You'd ftraight confound things facred with profane. 
" What tho' amid a thoufand pecks of beans 
" You ileal but one — the damage by thefe means 
" Is lighter, not the guilt." Thus he, whom all 
Hail juft, of every court and judgment-hall 
The gaze and pride, if he would win the ear 
Of heav n by facrifice of fwine or fteer, 
Hails thee aloud, Apollo ! — with much fhow 
Hails, Janus ! thee ;— then adds in whifper low : 
" Grant, fair Laverna ! the impoiing guife 
" Of fanclity ; throw dull in the world's eyes ; 
" Grant me to feem the thing that I am not ; 
** In darknefs veil each vice — in clouds each plot!" 



182 The Epistles. b. i. 

How he, that burns with covetous defire 
And for a farthing loll would rake the mire, 
Stands in the fcale of freedom one degree 
Above the humbler!: flave, I cannot fee. 
For he, that craves, will fear too ; and whom fears 
Enthrall, no freeman to my mind appears. 
The arms of Virtue he has thrown away 
And left her fentry-poft, who night and day 
Toils in amamng wealth. But hold ! 'tis well ; — 
Forbear to kill the captive you can fell. 
He'll do the public drudgery ! let him keep 
The kine, and plough the foil, and tend the fheep : 
Let him bear fardels, and on ihip-board brave 
The rougheft terrors of the wintry wave. 
He'll ferve to keep the markets down, to drain 
Home-produce and import the foreign grain. 

Not fo the wife and good man ; — He will fay 
What Bacchus does to Pentheus in the play :— 
" On thy poor prif 'ner, king ! what penal woes, 
i( What torments undeferved wouldft thou impofe?" 
Fllftrip thee of thy goods. " What goods ? my plate 
" My houfe, my couches, cattle, and eftate ? 
" Take them." Bound hand and foot Til keep thee 

fill 
In durance vile. " My god, whene'er I will, 
" Himfelf ihall loofe me." Meaning Death, I trow — 
Death — the laft term of human weal and woe." 



e. xvii. The Epistles. 183 



EPISTLE XVII. 

To Sc<eva. — On the art of a Place-hunter. 

THO' with the great to deal, my Scasva ! well 
You wot, and need no monitor to tell, 
Take Tome poor hints from one who mull in turn 
Frankly acknowledge he has much to learn ; 
As if the blind mould point the road. Yet fee 
If fomething worth your thought fall ev'n from me. 

If after dawn one hour of calm repofe, 
With fnug retirement, pleafe — if taverns, mows, 
And duft and brawls and rumbling carts offend — 
No more — to quiet Terentinum bend 
Your fteps ; there fix the haven of your reft ; 
For not Ambition's fons alone are bleft ; 
Nor fares he ill, who making peace his own, 
Steals from the cradle to the grave unknown. 

But, would you ferve your kindred — would you 
fhare 
Yourfelf a fomewhat more indulgent fare, 
Go, feek fome lordly board without delay ! 
' To fupper with what appetite you may ! ' 
When one, who hated courtiers from his heart, 
Growl'd out — " If Ariftippus knew the art 
** To dine content on potherbs, he would fpurn 
" To court the great" — " Aye," quoth the fage in 

turn; 
" And he, who knew the great man's fmile to gain, 
" By my advice your potherbs would difdain." 



184 The Epistles. b. i, 

Declare now, which of thefe contending fchools 
You favour : or (compliant with the rules 
Of elderfhip) hear, tried by reafon's tell, 
Why Ariflippus' fyflem likes me bell. 
For thus with keen retort, as hiflory fhows, 
He parried off the fnarling Cynic's blows : 
" I ac~l the zany fairly with a view 
" To ferve myfelf— to pleafe the rabble you. 
" I pay my court — (what's nobler ?) — that a Heed 
" May bear me, purple clothe, and monarchs feed. 
" You beg fcant offal r fmaller than the fmall, 
" Then brag forfooth you have no wants at all I" 
All flates of life the fupple fage became ; 
All hues of fortune found him ilill the fame : 
On higher things his eye was moilly bent ; 
With prefent things his heart was Hill content. 
Not fo the churl, whom hardihood of limb 
In mantle of coarfe drugget wraps : on him, 
'Twere marvel, if, for fufferance only fit, 
A change of circumflance with eafe could fit. 
The one ne'er tarries for his fine-ipun veil ; 
But, in whatever garb chance offers dreil, 
Saunters among the throng, and boafls the art 
In either character to top his part. 
Cloth of Milefian texture t'other flies 
As a mad dog or afp. He flarves — he dies— 
If you reflore him not his rug. Reflore, 
And let him live the fool he was before ! 
If to direcl the helm of Hate, and fhow 
To fhouting multitudes the captive foe, 
Above all earthly majefly raifed high, 
Soars to the throne of Jove and tempts the fky ; 
Of chiefs and ftatefmen, fure, to win the grace 



e. xvii. The Epistles. 185 

Holds not in glory's fcale the lowefl place. 

To make the port of Corinth, we are told, 

Falls to the lot of none except the bold. 

Who doubts his pow'r, had b eft Jit ft ill : — Agreed ; 

But what of thofe more vent'rous who fucceed ? 

Lies there not gallant firmnefs at the root? — 

Why here, or nowhere, hangs the point we moot. 

This dreads an enterprife which, he conceives, 

Mocks his poor flrength ; that dares it, and achieves. 

Unlefs all virtue be an empty name, 

The palm of honour is the' advent'rer's claim. 

They, who their own diftrefs forbear to din 
In their rich patron's ear, more favour win 
Than the importunate. It differs much 
To grafp the prize, and modeftly to touch 
The prefent. Yet here lies the fource — the end, 
From which our efforts fpring — to which they tend. 
The teafing fool, who clamours every hour — 
" My mother ftarves ; my After lacks a dower ; 
" My fields, alas ! are little worth to fell, 
" Yet inefficient to maintain me well" — 
Says in effect, Pleafe, gentlefolks I to fhow 
Compafjion on the poor ! your alms beftow ! 
Then chimes fome other to the felf-fame tune — 
Oh pity me ! let me too fhare the boon ! 
Had but the crow in filence deign'd to eat, 
His rivals had been lefs and more his meat. 

Whoe'er, when kindly fummon'd on a ride 
Forth to Brundufium by his patron's fide 
Or fair Surrentum, all the way complains 
Of rugged roads, fharp winds, and pelting rains, — 
Or (which is worfe) deplores beyond due meafure 
His ranfack'd baggage and his rifled treafure^ — 



186 The Epistles. b. i. 

Apes the fly jilt, who ever and anon 
Sobs for her necklace loft, her bracelet gone ; 
Until, the trick grown ftale, her genuine grief 
And real lofles gain but fmall belief. 
None care, when they have once found out the cheat, 
To lift the canting cripple from the ftreet : 
Tho' many an unfeign'd tear his eyes let fall — 
By great Ofiris let him fwear, and bawl — 
Help, cruel neighbours, help ! 'tis truth I tell : 
" Seek elfewhere, knave !" cry they ; " We know 
thee well." 



EPISTLE XVIII. 

To Lollius. — On the art of a Courtier, 

IF I have fcann'd that liberal fpirit well 
In which I know my Lollius to excel, 
His honeft candour never will defcend 
To play the flatterer and profefs the friend : 
Two characters that ftand diftinguifli'd more 
Than the ftaid matron from the flaunting whore. 
Not but there is an error, the reverfe 
Of mean fervility, perhaps ftill worfe : 
A rude and uncouth boorifhnefs, that ihocks 
All eyes with dirty teeth and unkempt locks, 
And thinks this rough exterior fhall appear 
Plain-dealing probity and worth fincere. 
Folly, as ufual, in extremes is feen, 
While Virtue nicely hits the happy mean. 
The one, all complaifance, who fquats at eve 



e. xviii. The Epistles. 187 

On the third couch and chuckles in his fleeve, 
Watches each nod and wink of his dear lord, 
Repeats his jokes and picks up every word : 
You'd fwear you heard fome fchool-boy con by heart 
His tafk or prompted play'r rehearfe his part. 

T'other will have it that goat's hair is wool. 
No theme fo trivial but the wrangling fool 
Is up in arms : " Who doubts," quoth he " my word ? 
" Who fays my voice is not to be firfl heard ? 
" Marry, come up ! to blurt in accents bold 
" Each thought, for twenty lives were dearly fold." 
Now what's the weighty point that mars his reft ? — 
If Dolichos or Caftor fences beft : — 
Which route lies fairer for Brundufium's bay, 
That by the Appian or Minucian way. 

The man who waftes his all in recklefs vice, 
Given to loofe gallantry or defperate dice ; — 
Whom affectation lures from humbler fcenes 
To drefs, perfume, and fare beyond his means ; — 
Whom reftlefs thirft and hunger after gold, 
Or fhame and dread of want, in thraldom hold ; — 
Him his rich friend, tho' haply ten times worfe, 
Regards with look contemptuous and averfe : 
Or, if he eyes not with difdainful fcorn, 
Yet takes upon himfelf to fcold and warn ; 
And, like a tender mother, fain would fee 
The minion wife whate'er the mafter be : 
" My ample funds," he fays (and 'faith fays true), 
" Allow fuch freaks ; but 'tis not fo with you : 
" A plain garb fuits the poor, the rich a fine ; 
t€ Go, mimic ! vie not with a purfe like mine ! " 
Volumnius, on fome coxcomb's ruin bent, 
Array'd him fprucely to his heart's content : 



188 The Epistles. b. i. 

For now, thought he, his wifhes foaring higher, 
He'll take new counfels with his new attire : 
He'll fnore till noon — for fome gay punk forget 
All fober buf 'nefs — and run deep in debt ; 
Anon perhaps the fencing-ilage he'll tread, 
Or drive a gard'ner's barrow for his bread. 

Be not too meddling, nor with curious eye 
Into your patron's fecrets aim to pry : 
But thofe confided keep, and from your breaft, 
Tho' plied with wine and threats, let nothing wreft. 

Let not a friend's purfuits your cenfure feel, 
Nor eulogize your own with pedant zeal : 
Nor, when he's bent o'er hill and dale to roam, 
Do you hang back to fcribble verfe at home. 
Thus with Amphion once the facred yoke 
Of brotherly affection Zethus broke ; 
Till awed by the feverer ftripling's ire 
At length in filence ilept the unwelcome lyre. 
He to a brother's idle whim gave way ; 
Brook you a benefactor's nobler fway ; 
And when he fummons forth the full-mouth'd pack 
And mules with nets -^tolian on each back, 
Truce with the moping and unfocial mufe 
Nor fullenly the generous fport refufe, — 
Sure with your comrade, from the chafe return'd, 
To fhare the feaft your labours jointly earn'd. 
'Twas ever Rome's choice paftime, free from blame, 
Good for the health and bracing to the frame. 
Robuft in youthful vigour, you exceed 
Almofl the boar in ftrength — the hound in fpeed : 
And few can wield (which aggravates the cafe) 
The arms of manhood with more dextrous grace : 
The Field of Mars in joufts has feen you long 



e. xviii. The Epistles. 189 

The pride and wonder of the circling throng : 
Your boyhood ferved fome fharp campaigns : in brief, 
You've feen Cantabrian wars beneath that chief 
Who bore from Parthian fhrines our ftandards home 
And bids each lurking rebel kneel to Rome. 

To leave no fhadow of excufe behind, 
Tho' all you fay and do is ftill confined 
Within juft bounds, we know you counterfeit 
A fea-fight fometimes at your father's feat. 
A lake there ferves the Adrian gulf to fhow ; 
Your brother heads the fquadron of the £oq ; 
Boats form in adverfe lines ; you lead the ftrife ; 
And a few boys paint Actium to the life. 
The fleets engage, and after fome fmall pother 
One party flies and victory crowns the other. 
To each his paftime : — Join but his ; he'll burn 
With heart and hand to fecond yours in turn. 

But with our fage monitions to proceed, 
If peradventure fuch advice you need — 
When of men's characters you fpeak, beware 
Of whom, to whom, and what thofe fpeeches are ! 
Shun the inquifltive : pert fools will prate ; 
And words once utter'd are recall'd too late. 
Let no fair youth or maid, that forms a part 
Of your rich patron's houfehold, wound your heart : 
Left by vouchfafing you a boon fo fmall 
He pay you off, or by refuting gall. 

To introduce another ftrongly prefT'd, 
Look to it well if he can ftand the teft : 
Elfe deftined foon to fhare reflected blame, 
Faults not your own may tinge your cheek with fhame. 
But fhould you err (as wifeft men have err'd) 
And on the worthlefs lavifh your good word, 



190 The Epistles. b. i. 

Him, whom his own demerits fink, give o'er, 
And once miftaken plead his caufe no more ; 
That thofe, whom you can fafely warrant juft, 
In your protection placing all their truft, 
With full effect, when evil tongues affail, 
You may defend thro' flander's blackell tale. 
For, fuch when her envenomed fhafts purfue, 
Be fure the danger is not far from you. 
He that efpies a neighbour's roof on fire 
And calmly fees the flames to heaven afpire, 
Will find them gather ftrength, till let alone 
They with his neighbour's houfe burn down his own, 

Sweet is the courtfhip of the great to thofe 
Who have not tried it; death to him that knows. 
You, while your bark yet fees the tempeft fleep 
And fkims the bofom of the tranquil deep, 
Ufe every effort, ply both fail and oar, 
Left the gale fhift and bear you back to fhore. 
The fad hate mirth, low fpirits the jocofe, 
The fprightly phlegm, good-humour the morofe. 
Sots, that whole nights in deep potations pafs, 
The milkfop hate that flinches at his glafs, 
Tho' ftoutly urging in excufe his dread 
Of midnight vapours and an aching head. 
Clear up the cloud that overcafts your brow, 
And fhare their mirth ; fince modefty 'ere now 
Has oft been known, mifconftrued, to alTume 
The air of dark defign, — referve, of gloom. 

To fum up all — Confult and con the wife 
In what the art of true contentment lies : 
How fear and hope, that rack the human will, 
Are but vain dreams of things nor good nor ill ; 
Inquire if Virtue fpring from head or heart, 



e. xviii. The Epistles. 191 

Nature's free boon or the flow growth of art : 
What lulls mad care, holds pamon in controul, 
Sheds a ferene complacence o'er the foul, 
And tunes the mind to concord with itfelf — 
The pride of influence, the fweets of pelf, 
Place, honour, profit — or, beyond all thefe, 
The calm ilill vale of privacy and eafe. 

For me, whene'er my foot that bank regains 
Whofe gelid waters lave Mandela's plains, — 
Dear fpot, tho* fhrivell'd by the parching air,. — 
What, think you, forms the fummit of my prayer I 
'Tis this : May I retain what I poflefs — 
Nay, if fate wills it, fee that little lefs — 
Only (fliould heav'n a longer period give) 
Live to myfelf the days I have to live I 
Of Books may I enjoy a decent {tore, 
Of grain enough to laft a year or more, — 
Nor, fearful left the fickle iky fliould lower, 
Hang trembling on the hope of each chance hour ! 
But here I paufe.— Suffice it if we pray 
To Jove for what Jove gives and takes away : — 
Life, health, and plenty — thefe let Heav'n aflign ! 
A firm and even foul — -I'll warrant mine. 



192 



The Epistles, 



b. 1. 



EPISTLE XIX, 



To Maecenas, — A defence of his own poetry from the 
ridicule which had attached onfome of his imitators. 

IF, dear Maecenas, verfed in claffic lore, 
To what Cratinus taught in days of yore 
Your credence yield, the water-drinker's fong, 
Cold as his heart, can never flourifh long. 
From that time forth when Bacchus of his grace 
Amid the Fauns and Satyrs deign'd to place 
True poets as pofleft, the dulcet Nine 
Have every morn, 'tis whifper'd, fmelt of wine. 
The praife, which father Homer oft bellows 
On brimming goblets, proves he loved his dofe. 
Ennius ne'er pour'd the war-fong, till his foul 
Had fuck'd infpiring rapture from the bowl. 
" That fober folks turn poets, Heav'n forefend ! 
" Such to the Courts and Libo's Font I fend." 
This edict pail, our wits without delay 
Tope wine by night and breathe its fumes by day. 

Strange notion ! what — if barefoot, with grim frown 
And the coarfe texture of a fcanty gown, 
One ape old Cato, would he body forth 
All Cato's probity and patriot worth ? 
The Moor, who toil'd in rival repartees 
To match in pow'rs of tongue Timagenes, 
At laft, a victim to defeated pride, 
Burft,ing with fullen envy droop'd and died. 
So, if I look but pale, fome ape fhall feek 






e. xix. The Epistles. 193 

With cummin-dofe to bleach his rofy cheek. 
Models miflead, when copiers fix their view 
On faults alone. How oft, ye fervile crew 
Of mimics, when your buftling pranks I've feen, 
Have ye provoked my fmiles — how oft my fpleen ! 

Peace to all fuch ! a vacant walk I found, 
A bold advent'rer in unbeaten ground. 
Let cowards lag behind ! The brave explore 
New paths, and rufh where foot ne'er trod before. 
I firft held forth to Latium's fond regard 
The ftern Iambics of the Parian bard, 
Copying his verfe — his fpirit, not each thought 
And phrafe with death to poor Lycambes fraught. 
Nor thou with fcantier wreath my brows array, 
As loath to change the ftructure of his lay : 
A verfe in which warm Sappho urged her fuit, 
To which Alcaeus tuned his warbling lute, — 
Albeit, diftindt in matter and in ilyle, 
In tart lampoons he ftudies to revile 
No perjured iire-in-law — with keen abufe 
Weaves for no falfe betroth'd the fatal noofe. 
His fong to Roman ears by me alone — 
By me the Latian minitrel — was made known ; 
Proud that thofe lays are conn'd (unfeen before) 
By liberal eyes, by liberal hands turn'd o'er. 

Afk you, why fome at home my page applaud, 
Yet cry it down ungracioufly abroad ? 
I coax no fickle rabble for their votes 
With bribes of tempting treats and caft ofF coats : 
I brook to hear no noble bards rehearfe, 
That they in turn may deign to hear my verfe : 
I court no defk — no pedant-tribes carefs : 
And hence — hence flow thofe tears of bitternefs I 



194 The Epistles. b. i. 

If I aver my fhame, with modeft look, 

To fpout in crowded theatres a book 

Whofe claim to notice is fo poor, and fwear 

I bluih to publifh trifles light as air ; 

Their anfwer is, — " Pfhaw, Horace ! now you jeer 

" And keep thofe dainties back for Jove's own ear, 

i( Vainly convinced (if truth be told) that few 

" Can pour fuch ne&ar'd ftreams of fong as you," 

At this to fneer outright my courage fails ; 

So, rather than encounter defperate nails, 

* e Let's waive that tender topic ! " I exclaim 

And crave a truce : For oft has this mock-game 

To dudgeon led and bickering broils, and they 

To furious conflict and the bloody fray. — 



EPISTLE XX. 

To bis Book. — A farewell addrefs on its publication. 

SO then, to Janus and Vertumnus, Book ! 
Thou feem'fl at length to throw a willful look ; 
Where trick'd and varnifh'd by the Solian hand 
High on the venal fhelf thou long'ft to Hand. 
Yes, yes — I fee, thy fhy referve is fled ; 
Averfe to locks and bolts thou would'ft be read : 
And, flighting all my counfel, bidfl adieu 
To private ears, to court the public view. 

Well, have thy will, and go thy way ! but learn, 
When once difmilPd, thou never canfl return. 
Fool that I was ! methinks I hear thee cry, 
When fome faftidious critic flings thee by, 
Or fome admirer fatiate of thy charms 



e. xx. The Epistles. 195 

Thrufts thee all torn and rumpled from his arms. 
But, if I read thy deltinies aright 
Nor mifts of felf-love dim the prophet's fight, 
While novelty and youth's attractive bloom 
Endure, thou fhalt be much carefTd at Rome. 
But, when the vulgar touch thy beauty foils, 
The filent moth (hall batten on thy fpoils ; 
Or to far Afric's coafl thou fhalt be fent 
Or Spain, fall bound in odious banifhment. 
Then he, whofe warning voice thou would'ft not hear, 
Shall flight thy fuiferings and deride thy fear, — 
Like him who once> his reftive afs to mock, 
Threw up the reins and drove him on the rock. 
Nor is this all : — For, when the prime is paft, 
Old-age with lifping accents fhall at laft 
Surprife thee teaching fchool-boys to repeat 
Their daily talk in every dirty ftreet. 

Thou then, what time the fun's intenfer ray 
Summons around thee many a liftener, fay — 
That, tho' a freedman's fon, in fortune's fpite 
I imp'd my pinions for a prouder flight, 
And foar'd aloof. Thus, what I lack in birth. 
To make amends, fhall fwell the fcore of worth. 
Say too that by the great — by men confeft 
Supreme in peace and war — I was carelPd. 
Add that I loved to bafk in fummer fkies, 
Was grey betimes, in flature under-fize, 
And quick to wrath ; yet that my bitterer! rage 
Ne'er rankled. Tell them, if they afk my age, 
Lollius and Lepidus the ftate controuFd 
When four and forty funs had o'er me roll'd. 



END OF THE FIRST BOO K. 



THE EPISTLES 

BOOK II. 



THE EPISTLES. 

BOOK II. 

EPISTLE I. 

To Augujlus Ctefar. — A panegyric on Auguft us, fol- 
lowed by criticifms on the various ftyles and objecls 
of Poetry. 

CAESAR ! while you fuftain a nation's weight, 
Immerfed in toils fo various and To great, — 
While you the Roman realm in arms defend, 
Call back to virtue, and with laws amend, — 
He that with prolix pen fuch hours mould Heal 
Might feem to trefpafs on the public weal. 

The worthies who atchieved high deeds of old, 
Since for thofe deeds among the Gods enroll'd, 
Rome's founder, Bacchus, Leda's twin-born pride, 
While yet alive their generous toils they plied — 
To tame wild hordes, put lawlefs rebels down, 
Mark the new fettlement, and rear the town — 
Mourn'd that the world, ftill blind to merit new, 
With-held the guerdon to their exploits due. 
Ev'n he who crufh'd the far-famed Hydra's rage 
And dared fo long a fateful war to wage 
With monflers dire, thofe monfters all o'erthrown, 



200 The Epistles. b. ii. 

Found Envy could be quell'd by Death alone. 
For why — each weak afpirant's twinkling rays 
Fade in thefe greater luminaries' blaze ; 
But, foon as death has quench'd their fcorching beam, 
Rivals turn friends and thofe that rail'd efteem. 

But your deferts maturer honours claim, 
And fhrines already confecrate your name, — 
All prompt to own, 'ere yet you mount the Ikies, 
That nothing fuch has rif n nor e'er mail rife. 
And yet your people (wifely thus and well 
On this one point agreed, that you excel, 
Whofe name they juflly rank while yet on earth 
Above all Greek — above all Roman worth) 
In books methinks far other tafle difplay 
And frame their judgments in a coarfer way. 
Each loaths with fcorn whatever wears the bloom 
Of novelty and fmells not of the tomb ; 
Each of departed worth the praifes rings : 
Name the Decemv'ral code — fome league our kings 
With Gabii or rude Sabines feal'd of yore — 
The Pontiffs* books — the Sibyl's multy lore — 
Their rapture knows no bound : The facred Nine 
On Alba's hill, fay they, infpired each line ! 

But if, becaufe in Greece, with genius bleft. 
So long, the earliefl bards are held the bell, 
In the fame fcale we Roman talent weigh 
Where bards and books are things of yefterday^ 
I fay no more — fuch fophifls may as well 
Swear olives have no kernel, nuts no fhell ! 
Confummate mailers in each branch of art, 
We fons of wit forfooth have topp'd our part ; 
And polifh'd Athens bows to Roman fkill 
In piclure, muiic, wreftling — what you will ! 



e. i. The Epistles. 201 

If verfe, like wine, improve by ripening age, 
What period, pray, flamps value on the page ? 
To end all parley draw your landmark clear : 
A bard, fuppofe, has reach'd his hundredth year ; — 
I fain would learn if praife be deem'd his due 
As ancient, or contempt as vile and new. 
" He o'er whofe grave one hundred funs have roll'd 
" May be pronounced a clamc good and old." 
But mould he want a month or year perhaps, — 
Muft he maintain his ftation or relapfe, — 
Tow'r mid the faultlefs wits of other days, 
Or mix'd with modern trafh renounce all praife ? 
" For one fhort month he forfeits not his place ; 
" Come., grant him, if you will, a twelvemonth's grace." 
To take the licenfe giv'n I mall not fail ; 
And, like the hairs which from the horfe's tail, 
Though fingly pull'd, yet all at lafl decay, 
So I thofe years pluck one by one away, 
'Till my opponent, by fair logic beat, 
Shall find the ground fink fall beneath his feet, 
Who runs to dates, weighs genius by the year, 
And hails no worth 'till fan&ion'd by the bier. 

Ennius, in precept fage, in fpirit bold, 
That fecond Homer, as our critics hold, 
Seems oft methinks his promife to neglecl, 
And brings his Samian dreams to fmall cffe£i. 
Naevius (fo much is time the foul of verfe !) 
None read, but all can frefh by heart rehearfe. 
In balancing their worth if queftions rife 
Which yields to which, Pacuvius bears the prize 
Of fludious art — Accius of loftinefs ; 
Afranius well, it feems, in Roman drefs 
Hits off Menander ; Plautus more, they fay, 



202 The Epistles. b. if. 

In Epicharmus the Sicilian's way 

Pours with bold negligence his rapid lines ; 

Terence in (kill, in force Caecilius fhines. 

Thefe bards great Rome commits to memory ; thefe 

In crowded pits her ravifh'd audience pleafe : 

Thefe are her ftandard fav'rites on the flage 

From elder Livius to the prefent age. 

The people's voice is fome times juft and true ; 
And times occur when it can blunder too. 
If it pronounce with hyperbolic praife 
That nothing can furpafs thofe antique lays — ■ 
Nothing come near their worth, 'tis clearly wrong. 
But if it candidly admit their fong 
Charged with old-fafhion'd rudenefs, coarfe in grain, 
Uncouth in parts, and flov'nly in the main, 
Tis clearly right ; its voice accords with mine ; 
And Jove's own grace mail on the verdicl mine. 

Not that I would at all thofe veterans flout, 
Or wifh old Livius wholly blotted out, 
Whom, I remember well, with iron rule 
Orbilius taught me to repeat at fchool : 
But, when I hear them call'd to the lalt touch 
Corredt and exquilite, I marvel much : 
In whom if haply ftarts me here and there 
Some well-turn'd phrafe — fome line of fmoothnefs 
It covers flaws unnumber'd, drags along [rare, 

Whole pages, and accredits all the fong. 
I hate to hear a work aflail'd with blame 
Not for its own dull thoughts or texture tame, 
But for its newnefs ; and for ancient bards 
Not pardon claim'd, but honour and rewards. 
Should I of Atta's piece a doubt obtrude 
Whether it tread the boards all flow'r-beftrew'd, 




e. i. The Epistles. 203 

With foot ere6l fome frowning fenior fays 
That loft to fhame are thefe degenerate days, 
When fcenes, that grave JEfopus ufed to acl 
Or artful Rofcius, are with fneers attacked ! 
Is it that felf-love dims their eye, which fees 
No worth but what has chanced themfelves to pleafe ? 
Or that they cannot brook the foul difgrace 
Of borrowing counfel from a rifing race, — 
And, flifF in prepofTefTion, proudly fpurn 
In age their childhood's leffons to unlearn ? 
Go to — the Salian hymn that Numa wrote 
Who praifes, and affecls to know and quote 
What neither he nor I can comprehend, 
Seeks not departed genius to befriend, ; 
Nor burns with zeal for bards of cent'ries pall ; 
But us depreciates — us and ours would blail. 
Yet had the Greeks thus fcrupled to allow 
Ought that was new, what had been ancient now ? 
Or whence had public ufe derived this flore 
Of volumes to be thumb'd and tumbled o'er ? 
When, refting from her deeds of arms, fair Greece 
Voluptuous revell'd in the lap of peace, 
Soon wanton wax'd, Hie now would take the lead 
In feats gymnaftic, now would train the fteed ; 
In ivory, flone, or brafs fhe loved to trace 
The fculptured form and mould the living grace ; 
On on the colour'd canvafs boldly fought 
To rivet each enraptured eye and thought ; — 
Now to the Comic pipe gave eager ear ; 
Now fhed o'er Tragic fcenes foft pity's tear. 
As frifking round his nurfe fome infant boy 
With wayward humour Ihifts the various toy, 
So every art in turn with willful eye 



204 The Epistles. b. ii. 

She view'd — then flung the fhort-lived bauble by. 

What moves our love — or what our hate — fo much, 

But foon it veers at fafhion's magic touch ! 

Thus throve variety — thus feldom fails 

To thrive — with gentle peace and profp'rous gales ! 

In Rome 'twas long our fathers' joy and pride 
At early dawn with portals open'd wide 
On knotty points to clear each client's doubt ; 
And great the care to put their money out 
With all due forms fecured : experienced age 
Would teach, and youth imbibe, in precepts fage, 
The ways and means to make their funds increafe 
By honeft thrift, and bid vain lux'ry ceafe. 
The fickle public now has changed its tone, 
Stung with the lull of fcribbling verfe alone. 
Crown'd at the feftive board with bays, grave fires 
And ftriplings dictate what the mufe infpires. 
Ev'n I, who pen no rhyme as I've averr'd, 
Prove falfer than the Parthian to my word, 
And, 'ere the fun is riPn, awake and bawl 
For parchment, pens, and ink, in hafte to fcrawl. 

None freer the fhip but thofe in fteerage verfed ; 
Thofe who would pradlife med'cine, learn it firft : 
And few will, 'ere the art is underftood, 
Mix for the fick a dofe of fouthern-wood : 
Smiths ply the fmithy ; and the proverb rules 
None but adepts ihould meddle with edged tools : 
Verfe is the only art each thinks he knows ; 
And, learned or illiterate, all compofe ! 

Yet that this flight obliquity of brain — 
This minor mania — carries in its train 
Some fcatter'd virtues too, mufl be confer!: : 
Av'rice can fcarce infect the poet's breafl : 



e. i. The Epistles. 205 

'Tis verfe he covets — verfe alone requires ; 
With this he laughs at loffes, thefts, and fires. 
No plots he hatches, nor fupplants by fraud 
An unfufpecting friend or infant ward. 
Coarfe bread and herbs demand fmall length of purfe ; 
He afks no better fare, he fears no worfe : 
Though weak in war, flill ufeful to the Hate 
Grant but that fmall concerns may profit great : 
He trains to fpeech the infant's faltering tongue, 
And childhood learns to lifp what bards have fung. 
Ev'n at thofe years he turns the' untainted eyes 
From ribald trafh to lefTons found and wife : 
Anon he forms the heart in riper age, 
Reproves low fpite and tempers brutal rage ; — 
Perpetuates worth, records each generous deed, 
And binds round Virtue's brow fair honour's meed ; — 
Points out to view examples high, and fires 
The fons to emulate their patriot fires ; — 
Bids anguifh fmile that never fmiled before, 
AfTuages ficknefs, and confoles the poor, 
Unlefs the mufe had giv'n the bard, fay how 
Had youths and maids preferr'd the fuppliant vow ? 
The Chorus waits — he lends his helping hand, 
And Heav'n is won to hear their accents bland. 
He calls to earth the fhow'r refrefhing, frees 
From threat'ning peril, and averts difeafe ; 
Let but the poet touch the plaintive firing — 
See peace returning fpreads her downy wing, 
And years with plenty at his bidding flow ! 
Verfe foothes the Gods above and Ghofls below ! 

Our priftine peafants, men of ruftic mould, 
Content with little, hardy, rough and bold, 
After their com was houfed, in feftive play 



206 The Epistles. b. ii. 

Were wont to pafs a harmlefs holiday. 
Cheer'd through long toil by profpecls of its clofe, 
Their hands — nay hearts — they gave to glad repofe. 
Each feated with his good-wife at his fide 
And chubby brats, the little houfehold's pride. 
With milk Silvanus — with a pig boon Earth — 
Genius, the myflic pow'r that guards our birth, 
With flow'rs and wine — they labour 'd to appeafe, 
Mindful of life's fhort date. From rites like thefe 
The rude Fefcennine farce in procefs grew, 
Where ruilic flouts in verfe alternate flew. 
The pleaiing licenfe long uncurb'd by laws 
Gambol'd from year to year, and gain'd applaufe : 
Till into open outrage waxing fall 
The foul-mouth'd jibe grew ferious, and at laft 
Through noble roofs the ribald flander rang : 
He that was gall'd by fcandal's venom'd fang 
Erelong took umbrage ; he too that was not, 
Still felt fome intereft for the common lot. 
A law now paft appointing heavy pains 
To him that fhould revile in wicked {trains. 
They changed their note, and dread of drubbing foon 
Taught them fair words and wit without lampoon. 
Tamed Greece to tame her vi&refs now began, 
And with her arts fair Latium over-ran : 
Whence that Saturnian doggrel was conlign'd 
To due difgrace, and rudenefs grew refined. 
Yet traces of the ancient uncouth vein 
Remain' d for many an age, and flill remain. 
For late it was 'ere Rome, her arms flung by, 
Turn'd to the Grecian page a fludious eye ; 
Nor, till her wars with Carthage now well o'er 
Gave leifure and repofe unknown before, 



e. i. The Epistles. 207 

Began fhe to inquire if Sophocles, 

Thefpis, and ^Efchylus had ought to pleafe. 

Fired with thofe fcenes, to copy next fhe tried, 

And to tranflation's talk her hand applied ; 

And, form'd with heart to feel and tongue to drefs 

Thoughts high and grand, Ihe fail'd not of fuccefs. 

For not of tragic fpirit lacks ihe ftore, — 

Nay happily can dare and boldly foar : 

But here her weaknefs lies, that to efface 

What once is penn'd, fhe deems a foul difgrace. 

To Comedy fome hold lefs pains and thought 
Due, fmce her themes from common life are fought. 
But common themes in fiction's garb to drefs — 
The tafk grows harder as the' indulgence lefs. 
Mark with how fmall conflftency or truth 
Plautus delineates the enamour'd youth, 
Sly pimp, and griping churl ! Obferve, I pray, 
How old DofTennus in his rambling way 
With fpunging parafites ekes out his page, 
And with how lax a fock he fweeps the ftage ! 
For why — His aim is pelf; with purfe well cramm'd 
He recks not if his piece be clapp'd or damn'd. 
Now look to him whom in her airy car 
Vain-glory leads to the dramatic war ! 
His heart with fpleen a lukewarm audience kills* 
A liftening pit with pert complacence fills. 
To thofe who ftart for fame, fo light- — fo fmall 
That chance which bids their fpirits mount or fall ! 
Adieu the ftage, if, as the palm is mine 
Or from my grafp with-held* I thrive or pine ! 

Another grievance, which might well deter 
The ftouteft-hearted bard, will oft occur : 
For of the crowd that portion which* though lower 



208 The Epistles. b. ii. 

In rank and tafle, are far in numbers more, 

The flupid vulgar (prompt with many a fifl 

To 'enforce their judgment, mould the knights refill) 

In the mid action claim with deaf'ning bawl 

The Boxers or the Bear, their all-in-all. 

Nay ev'n the knight feems now no joy to know 

But gorgeous pageantry and raree-fhow ; 

His fpring of pleafure from the ear and brain 

Pafi to the flickering eye and optics vain. 

Four hours or more uncurtain'd Hands the flage, 

While troops of horfe and foot fierce battle wage ; 

Cars, coaches, chariots, mips, aflound the eye, 

And here kings ftalk in chains, there fquadrons fly : 

Corinthian vafes plunder'd from the foe, 

And ivory flatues in long order go. 

Oh could the laughing fage revifit earth, 

How would our flaring audience move his mirth, 

When fome white elephant their fond regard 

Attracts, or beafl half-camel and half-pard ! 

The people fure would his main interefl fhare, 

And prove far more amufmg than the play'r. 

The bard (God help him !) well with him might pafs 

For one that tells his tale to a deaf afs. 

For where can hiflrionic lungs be found 

To flem the clam'rous din our pits refound ? 

Loud as the billows lafh the Tufcan fhore 

Or Gargan forells to the tempefl roar, 

Their fhouts falute the pomp with carvings rich^ 

And gems, and foreign frippery, frounced in which 

No fooner flalks the play'r, than peals are heard 

On peals ! — But has he fpoken? — Not a word. — 

Why then this coil ? — Yon tawdry fluff they view, 

Whofe dye Tarentine mocks the violet's hue. 






e. i. The Epistles. 209 

But, left you think that hopelefs to excel 
Myfelf, I flight what others handle well, 
Know that to me that poet feems pofTeft 
Of pow'rs portentous, who can rack my breaft 
With vifionary woe, bid pity fill, 
Soothe, ftir to wrath, with fancied horrors thrill, 
And, like a forcerer, whifk me through the air 
To Thebes — to Athens — when he will and where ! 

But fome there are, who loathe to trull their piece 
To an aflembled public's proud caprice, 
Write to be read. To thefe afpirants too, 
Methinks, fome portion of your care is due, 
If you would fill that facred pile you rear 
With poems worthy great Apollo's ear, — 
Or fire our bards with zeal, and fpur them on 
To climb the verdant heights of Helicon. 

Oft to ourfelves, indeed, we fons of fong 
(To own the painful truth) work mickle wrong: 
When on your ear, for inftance, at a time 
Of buf 'nefs or fatigue, we force our rhyme ; — 
When we refent the freedom of a friend 
Who dares this line or that to reprehend ; — 
When, in reciting, each choice phrafe we meet, 
We haften, uninvited, to repeat ; — 
When we lament that few have fenfe to trace 
Our poem's fubtle thread and fine-fpun grace ; — 
When we think furely that our fcribbling vein 
No fooner mall tranfpire, than you will deign 
To fmile upon our lays, carefs, invite, 
Load us with boons, and urge us on to write. 

Yet 'tis worth while to mark with wary eyes 
What fort of Sacrifians the mufe fupplies 
Meet for the fhrine, and competent to tell 



210 The Epistles. b. ii, 

That worth in peace,, in war, approved fo well, — 
Worth, which 'twere facrilege to trull, I deem, 
In hands unequal to fo proud a theme. 

Well had it been for Philip's warlike fon 
If Chcerilus had ne'er his favour won, 
Nor to the conqueror of the world had fold 
His doggrel lines for Macedonian gold. 
For homely verfe the purefl fame will fpot, 
Sure as ink handled leaves behind a blot. 
But he, in choice of bards fo little nice, 
Who fuch a poem bought at fuch a price, — 
This very king, we're told, ordain'd by law 
None but Apelles mould his femblance draw, 
And that Lyfippus' hand mould mould alone 
Great Alexander's fhape in brafs or flone. 
Thus the fame mind, which Nature had endued 
With tafle for works of art fo nice and ihrewd, 
When fummon'd to pronounce on books and bards 
And thofe fair tributes which the mufe awards, 
Forgot its (kill, and any one might fwear 
He drew, when young, Bceotia's foggy air. 

But, fir ! the favour'd bards, on whom is placed 
Your patronage, difcredit not your tafle ; — 
But fpeak the fine difcernment which feledls 
And the boon hand which hail'd by all protects 
Virgil and Varius. Here the public voice 
Echoes the verdict and approves the choice, 
Nor breathes the form with portraiture more juft 
On the fmooth tablet flamp'd or brazen bull, 
Than of great worthies by the pen we find 
Sketch'd to the life the manners and the mind. 
Nor would I Hill my humble efforts bound 
To this colloquial verfe that creeps aground, 



e. i. The Epistles. 211 

But rather launch in Epic's bold career, 

To fing the' embattled hoft and briftling fpear, 

Record the fields which Caefar's arms have won, 

The rivers forded and the realms o'er-run, 

Hills crown'd with forts to curb each barb'rous horde, 

And a wide world compell'd to own its lord, 

While Janus clofed fpeaks peace reilored anew 

And Parthia bows her neck to Rome and You — 

All this and more my ample page mould fill, 

Were but my genius equal to my will. 

But fo it is : Your dignity demands 

No flimfy treatment at the poet's hands ; 

And fhame forbids this feeble pen to dare 

A theme my mufe lacks energy to bear : 

Since too officious zeal has oft pull'd down 

To its own level him it flrove to crown ; 

But never more than when that zeal difplays 

Its fulfome raptures in poetic lays. 

For fooner caught and Headier to abide 

On memory's tablet that which we deride, 

Than what revere. For me, had I fuch claim, 

Well could I fpare the zeal which mars my fame. 

I wifh not to Hand forth to public view 

In wax with features coarfer than the true, — 

Still lefs to hear fome bungling bard rehearfe 

My praifes traveftied in flov'nly verfe ; 

Left at a tribute fo uncouthly paid 

I Hand abafh'd ; and with my author laid 

In the broad bottom of fome open cheft, 

Budge to the fhopman's counter to inveft 

Pies, perfumes, pepper, frankincenfe, or ought 

That wrapp'd in reams of nonfenfe there is bought. 



212 The Epistles. b. il 



EPISTLE II. 

To Julius F/orus. — Practical obfervations on life, 

FLORUS, firm friend to Nero good and brave ! 
Suppofe fome chapman off' ring you a Have 
At Gabii born or Tibur, thus propounds 
His terms : — " This lad is yours for three-fcore pounds ; 
" Fair and of comely fhape from top to toe — 
" Quick at his mailer's beck to come and go — 
" Apt for all arts — in Greek has fome fmall fkill — 
6e Plaflic as clay you'll mould him to your will ; 
" His voice too, though untutor'd, may afford 
" Strains not unwelcome at the genial board. 
" Praife in excefs the vender's faith impairs, 
" As if he pufPd, but to put off, his wares : 
" Pinch'd by no need, beneath no debts I groan ; 
" My flock, though fmall, is yet (thank Heaven) my 

own. 
" You'll find the trade in candour far from fuch ; 
" Ev'n I to all would hardly blab as much. 
<( Once he proved truant, and (you know their way) 
" Scared at the rod in pickle fkulking lay 
" Beneath the flairs. If this one fpeck of vice 
<e Prove no impediment, you know the price : — " 
This honefl dealer fure might take the fum, 
The bargain clofe, and fmile at fuits to come. 
For why — " the rifk was yours," he'd fay ; 6 ' you 

knew 
" His failing ; all was fair ; what ground to fue ? " 



e. ii. The Epistles. 213 

Such is my cafe : I warn'd you, when you went, 
That I was funk in floth, half impotent 
For fuch attentions. Thus, methought, your blame 
Would be difarm'd, if chance no letter came. 
Alas, vain cautions thefe, if you that plea 
In aggravation urge, which makes for me ! 
But lo ! you tax me with neglecl Hill worfe ; 
Falfe to my word, it feems, I promifed verfe, 
And forfeit now my pledge. — Nay, ceafe to rail ; 
Truce with apologies, and hear a tale. 

A foldier of Lucullus, who, they fay, 
With much ado had faved his hard-earn'd pay, 
Tempted one night by a forced march to fnore, 
Loft to the utmoft doit his treafured ftore. 
Anon he rofe, and fierce as wolf fharp-fet, 
Curling the foe, himfelf, and all he met, 
Took fword-in-hand a royal hold fupplied 
With ample flores and ftoutly fortified. 
Praifed for the gallant feat he reap'd its fruit 
In many a badge of honour, and to-boot 
Got twice ten thoufand pieces for his fhare. 
Soon after this his chief — no matter where — 
Much wanting to reduce fome other fort, 
Sends for the fellow, and begins to' exhort 
In terms that might have quicken'd the molt flow : 
" Go, my brave lad, where glory fummons, go ! 
" Once more your fleps may fav'ring fortune fpeed, 
" And vicl'ry's laurel crown the gallant deed ! 
U Behold yon fortrefs : — Storm it, and command 
" A rich reward. — Why, how now, zooks, you ftand !" 
Troth, general, no offence — in accents cool 
Replies the clown, but, though a clown, no fool — 
Such deeds of 'arms ', no longer fuit my plan: 



214 The Epistles. b. ii. 

He that has loft his knapfack, he's your man ! 

'Twas mine at Rome in boyhood to be taught 
What woes Achilles' wrath to Greece had wrought. 
Athens 'erelong imparted fome thing more, 
And led my youthful fleps to graver lore. 
She clear'd my mental vifion to obferve 
Duty's ftraight path 'mid error's tortuous curve ; 
To wifdom's page fhe bade me give my hours, 
And woo fair Truth in Academus' bow'rs. 
But ah ! tempefluous times cut fhort my flay ; 
And, borne by civil broil's flrong tide away, 
To arms, all rude of camps, I had recourfe, — 
Arms ill prepared to cope with Casfar's force. 
Soon as Philippi's field my wings had clipp'd 
And laid my pride in dull, crefl-fallen, ftripp'd 
Of houfe and land paternal, in lorn plight, — 
At length bold want impell'd my pen to write. 
But now, times alter'd, I mull labour fure 
With frenzy that no hellebore can cure, 
Should I not chufe, with well-repleniih'd purfe, 
Rather to fleep in peace than fcribble verfe. 
Our joys Heal from us, as the years roll on ; 
Mirth, mufic, love, and wine are well-nigh gone : 
And poefy, 'ere many a fun be pall, — 
Sweet poefy mufl be refign'd at lafl. 

But what to write ? — For various are the kinds 
Of verfe, and readers of as various minds. 
By one Iambics, odes by you preferr'd, 
Sly wit and jeers Bionian charm a third. 
'Twere as three guefls around my table fat, 
And one chofe this — another long'd for that : 
What mould, what fhould not, on the board be placed? 
What cook fhall cater for each fundry tafle? 



e. ii. The Epistles. 215 



Thefe relifh molt what moft difpleafes you, 
And what you praife difgufts the other two. 

Think you, befides, the cares and toils that throng 
Around my path, leave room for muring fong ? 
One afks me to ftand furety; one invites 
To hear, all bufmefs waved, what he recites. 
One friend lies rick abed on mount Quirine, 
Another on the further! Aventine, — 
Both to be call'd upon without delay ; 
A pleafant diftance this to plod one's way ! 

But (you object) the paths are clear and Hill, 
That one may faunter on and mufe at will. 
Here fpeeds fome bufy builder through the ftreets 
With mules and porters joflling all he meets : 
There mounts a Hone heaved by the creaking crane, 
Or pond'rous timbers groan beneath the chain. 
Here difmal creeps a hearfe ; a thundering dray 
Or loaded wain there ftands and blocks the way. 
Now a mad dog flies foaming pall ; and now 
Forth rufhes from the jakes a miry fow. 
Commend me this for a fit place and time 
To woo the mufe and con melodious rhyme ! 
Know to a man we choir of poets love 
To flee the town and feek the filent grove, 
True votaries of that Bacchus who is faid 
To court foft {lumbers in the woodland fhade. 
Stun'd with this din and uproar night and day 
Yet would you have me troll the dulcet lay, 
And from the throng abftracling all regards 
Purfue the narrow track of peerlefs bards ! 
The genius that in Athens' calm has fpent 
Seven years, on fludies and on books intent, 
With learned toil grown wan and haggard, fee, 



2i6 The Epistles. b. ii. 

At laft Heps forth abforb'd in reverie, 

And fpeechlefs as a ftatue ftalks along, 

While tittering laughter fhakes the faucy throng. 

Can I then here, teafed with the world's dull ft rife, 

And toft in the mid ftorms of civil life, 

To modulate mellifluous verfe afpire 

And ftanzas meet to wake the warbling lyre ? 

Time was when Rome a certain pleader faw 
Sworn brother to one learned in the law ; 
Confed'rate compliments by turns were flung, 
And each the other's unmix' d praifes rung ; 
For eloquence, for fhrewdnefs, tit-for-tat, 
A very Gracchus this, a Mucius that. 
Are not we bards infected with the fame 
Strange whim, to trumpet forth each other's fame ? 
I pen foft odes, he elegies, admired 
By all the world — by all the Nine infpired. 
Firft mark with what a felf-complacent air 
And looks that fay — " My works too mall be there," 
We call our glance around the facred dome 
Thrown open to the riiing wits of Rome 1 
Then prithee follow, and, if time allow, 
Give ear how each makes good his claim, and how 
By each the wreath for his dear felf is twined ! 
Like Samnites ftaunch in tardy fray combined 
Till ev'ning's clofe, we give and take the blow. 
Smiting by turns and fmitten by the foe. 
One votes me an Alcasus — tempting lure ! 
I him a — what r — Callimachus, be fure. 
If this be deem'd too low, he mounts yet higher, 
And ftruts Mimnermus to his heart's deiire. 
To foothe this neft of hornets much I bear, — 
And, loath of praife to forfeit my poor {hare, 



e. ii. The Epistles. 217 

Beat up for votes when in my fcribbling fits. 
But coord and having well regain'd my wits, 
I change my note, and fmiling at their fpite 
Bar my deaf ears to all that they recite. 

" Dull bards (you'll fay) are laugh'd at." True ; 
but then 
With what complacent glee they ply the pen, 
Doat on themfelves, and of their own vile lays 
(Leave them alone) burft out in rapturous praife ! 
Where error leads to luxury fuch as this, 
'Twere cruel to diflurb their dream of blifs. 

But is there one whofe bofom burns to frame 
A poem juftly worthy of the name, 
His own performance he will dare to view 
With a ftern Cenfor's eye fevere and true : 
Such words as fail in luftre, weight, and ftrength, 
Or cumbroufly drag on their liftlefs length, 
Albeit with fore reluctance they refign 
Their poll and Hill lie fcreen'd in Vefta's ihrine, 
From their proud place depofing he caihiers : 
Others long fhrouded in the night of years, 
Words which, of pregnant force, now heard no more, 
Our Catos and Cethegi fpake of yore, 
Deform'd with vet'ran rufl and cancrous flain, 
He ufhers forth to light and life again. 
Words newly coin'd at times he will produce, 
Stamp'd by the parent of all language, ufe ; — 
And like fome river's current clear and ftrong 
The banks enriching as it tides along, 
Will pour his treafures with a lavifh hand 
And fcatter wealth and plenty o'er the land; — 
The exuberant he will prune, the rough refine^ 
Blot out the bafe and nerve the lagging line : 



218 The Epistles. b. ii. 

In fhort, he'll rack his wits a thoufand ways, 
Like one whofe pantomimic fkill difplays 
The Satyr or rude Cyclops, and yet wear 
With eafy negligence a fportive air. 

'Troth at this rate (lays one), I'd rather pafs 
Ev'n for a driv'ling dolt— a dotard afs, 
(So I might relifh or in footh forget 
My own dear failures) than be wife and fret. 
Once of good note at Argos lived a wight 
Who all life's common functions ferved aright, 
Kind and good-humour'd to his fpoufe as moil, 
A friendly neighbour and a faithful hofly — 
Could wink at a Have's faults, and if his wine 
Show'd a ilaved cork, would rave within the line ; — 
One that without a keeper's aid could tell 
Where frowned a precipice — where yawn'd a well : 
In brief the man was otherwife not mad, — 
Save that one whim, and that moil ilrange, he had. 
Oft in an empty theatre he'd fit 
Fancying for hours he heard a world of wit: 
In his mind's eye ilalk'd matchlefs play'rs, while he 
Sat clapping and applauding with much glee. 
In lapfe of time, by care of kind relations, 
With handfome fees and learned confultations, 
The fharp-dofed hellebore its end attains 
And routs the morbid humour from his veins. 
Reilored to reafon, " Curfe on that fame pill ! " 
He cries — " Why this is not to cure but kill. 
' e What have you done, my friends ? Your zeal has 

broke 
" My trance of blifs. Oh that I ne'er had woke 
" From thofe delicious dreams ! or could again 
" Call back the dear illufion of the brain ! " 



e. ii. The Epistles. 219 

In fum, the hour is come when I mufl fink 
The boy, and leaving baubles learn to think ; 
No more mete words and fyllables, or fuit 
Soft-warbling numbers to the Latian lute, 
But modulate my life, my duties fcan, 
And tune the nobler harmonies of man. 
Oft-times then, calling life's low cares away, 
Alone and penfive to myfelf I fay — 
" Of water if no draught your thirft could chafe, 
" You'd call the doctor in and ftate your cafe : 
" Why, when — the more you get — the more you 
" Not afk advice your moral health to fave ? [crave, 
" Had you been told fome herb or root fupplied 
" A fov'reign cure — and if, its virtues tried, 
" It tended only to inflame the fore, 
" You'd feek the bootlefs herb or root no more. 
" When fome, who boafl to fludy the foul's health, 
" Tell you that wifdom ever waits on wealth, 
" And wealthier grown you're not a whit more wife, 
" Still will you follow friends who thus advife ? 
" Nay, but if wealth in fact could wit infpire 
" And foothe each racking fear and fond defire, 
" You'd blufh with juflice if the world could view 
<e One churl alive more covetous than you. 
" If goods and chattels, as the fcale goes down, 
" Value receiv'd, become a mortal's own ; 
* e So alfo ufe-and-wont, if we believe 
" The lawyers, fometimes can a title give. 
" Now mark the inference which this rule fecures : — 
" The acres, which fupply you food, are yours ; 
" And Orbius' bailiff, when he ploughs the plain 
" Deflined 'erewhile to furnifh you with grain, 
<' Owns you his lord. You pay the price — you dine 



220 The Epistles. b. ii. 

" On the bought eggs, grapes, pullets, flafk of wine : 

" Thus piece-meal, for three thoufand pounds of pelf 

" Or more perhaps, you buy the land itfelf. 

" For, if 'tis paid for, what imports it how — 

" At once or by degrees — of old or now ? 

" He that has whilome bought a huge eftate 

" Near Veii or Aricia, piles his plate [foil, — 

" With pur chafed kale though cull'd from his own 

" At dewy night-fall makes his cauldron boil 

" With pur 'chafed 'logs ; — yet fondly deems the ground 

" His own, which rows of waving poplars bound : 

" As if that fief were in a mortal's pow'r, 

" Which at the turn of every fleeting hour, 

" By gift or fale, by force or death's command, 

(e Changes its lord and fhifts from hand to hand. 

" Since nature then fo frail a tenure gave 

6 ' To all — and heir to heir, as wave to wave, 

" Succeeds — I fain would learn what fruit it yields 

" To join Lucanian to Calabrian fields, 

" And burft your barns ; when Death at laftfweeps all, 

" And, deaf to gold, mows down both great and fmall. 

" Gems, pictures, flatues, vafes richly chafed, 

iC The Tufcan cameo and the Tyrian veil — 

" There are who thefe grave toys pofTefs not : yes — 

" And there is one who cares not to pofTefs. 

<e Why of twin- brethren, this, anointed o'er 
ec With nard, prefers his bottle, dice, and whore 
" To all the palm-groves Herod's realms contain ; 
" While that, as richer — thirftier flill for gain, 
" From early dawn to twilight eve mall toil 
" With fire and axe to tame the woodland foil; — 
" He only knows whofe influence at our birth 
" O'er-rules each mortal's planet upon earth, 



e. it. The Epistles. 221 

" The' attendant Genius, temper-moulding pow'r, 

" That {tamps the colour of man's natal hour. 

" For me — when reafon calls, whate'er enfues, 

" I'll dip into my moderate hoard and ufe; 

" Regardlefs what my heir fome future day, 

" Chagrin'd to find {o little left, fhall fay. 

" Yet would I mark what difPrence lurks between 

" The wifely frugal and the bafely mean, — 

" What fhades the fpend thrift's wild profufion part 

" From the boon freedom of a liberal heart. 

" For why — 'tis one thing fure at folly's call 

" With ram extravagance to wafte your all — 

" Another freely now and then to fpend, 

" And, fick of hoarding without ufe or end, 

" To fnatch, as juft let loofe from fchool the boy, 

" Of life's fhort holiday the tranfient joy. 

" Enough ! let haggard begg'ry from my door 
" But Hand aloof — no matter, rich or poor ! 
" Whether in light canoe or {lately barge 
" Embark'd, I ftill am borne the felf-fame charge. 
" 'Tis well : and if no brifk impelling gale 
" Sets in the bofom of my fwelling fail, 
" At leaft I buffet not in ftormy ftrife 
•* The eddying blaft and adverfe tide of life ; 
" In health, rank, genius, virtue, fortune clafp'd, 
" Though not the foremoft, yet before the laft. 

" You're not a mifer. Good — but prithee fay, 
" Is every vice with avarice flown away ? 
" Burns not your bofom with ambition's fire, 
" Nor chill'd with fears of death, nor chafed with ire ? 
" Does Superflition ne'er your heart affail 
" Nor bid your foul with fancied horrors quail ? 
" Or can you fmile at magic's flrange alarms, 



222 The Epistles. b. ii 

" Dreams, witchcraft, ghofts, ThefTalian fpells and 

charms ? 
" Count you each birth-day with a grateful mind ? 
ee To a friend's foibles are you nobly blind ? 
" Wax you more wife with each revolving year, 
" Milder and mellower as your end draws near ? 
" What boots it this or that excefs to fhun, 
" And of ten thoufand thorns to pluck out one ? 
" If to live well and follow reafon's plan 
" You know not, yet make way for thofe that can ! 
" Go to — you've toy'd, laugh'd, quaff' d your fill : 

give place 
" To thofe who'll frolic with a better grace. 
cc OfF, off! nor linger 'till a fprightlier age 
" Mock the grey loon and thruft him from the ftage ! ' 



EPISTLE III. 

Addrejjedto Lucius Calpurnius Pifo and his two fons, 
and commonly entitled the Art of Poetry. 

SUPPOSE fome painter for the whim mould trace 
A horfe's neck with human head and face, 
And limbs from various animals exprefT'd 
In plumage of as various hues invert, 
So that the fame fantaftic piece may fhow 
A fair maid upwards— a foul fiih below, — 
Were you admitted to the motley light, 
Methinks you'd laugh, my friends, and well you might. 
Yet not lefs flrange, my Pifos, to the ear 
Of fober fenfe that poem mull appear, 






e. in. The Epistles. 223 

Which deals in fhapes extravagant and vain, 
Wild as the phantoms of a feverifh brain* 
Where, no two members to one whole referr'd, 
All is grotefque, incongruous, and abfurd. 

" Painters (you'll fay) and bards, the world agrees, 
" Are privileged to dare what flights they pleafe." 
We own that much is due for licenfe' fake, 
And give it freely as we freely take. 
But let them Hop where nature Hops at leaft, 
Nor couple tame with favage, bird with beafl. 
Poems of high attempt and promife vail 
Oft dwindle to a dreary void at laft, 
With here and there a purple remnant found 
Tagg'd on to throw a tawdry glare around. 
Diana's fhrine, embower'd in tufted ihades, 
With ftreamlets trickling through the verdant glades — 
The ftately Rhine — the Bow that fpans the Iky — 
By turns, like tinfel trappings, catch the eye. 
Not that fuch themes well-timed are void of grace : 
They are not bad ; but they are out of place. 
Say 'tis your knack to draw a Cyprefs-tree : — 
What then ? you're hired to paint a ilorm at fea 
For fome wreck'd failor. If the wheel begin 
A vafe, why Harts me up a uipperkin P 
In fhort, to mark this maxim never ceafe — 
Let all you write be one and of a piece. 

Dear fire, and offspring worthy of your fire ! 
We bards are dupes to what ourfelves admire. 
Would I be brief — I grow confufed and coarfe ; 
Who aims at fmoothnefs, fails in fire and force ; 
In him who foars aloft, bombaf! is found ; 
Who fears to face the tempeft, crawls aground. 
Who courts variety and fain would ring 



224 The Epistles. b. ii. 

A thoufand changes on the felf-fame firing, 
Will paint, as 'twere in fancy's wildefl mood, 
Boars in the wave and dolphins in the wood. 
Thus even error, fhun'd without addrefs, 
Breeds error, difPrent in its kind, not lefs. 

The meaner! hand at fculpture fhall not fail 
To hit the waving hair or mould a nail, 
Yet mars the tout-enfemble, fince his foul 
Lacks energy to grafp a perfect whole. 
Genius thus circumfcribed, mould I afpire 
To works of tafte, I would no more defire 
Than fhock with hideous nofe each pafTer by, 
Praifed for my jetty hair and floe-black eye. 

Firft, ye that write, mark well your proper field ; 
Let each felect fome theme which he can wield ; 
And, 'ere he tax his moulders, weigh with care 
What freight they can and what they cannot bear. 
His pen fhall words a ready hoft attend, 
And method light him to his journey's end. 

Of method this I deem the pride and grace — 
Whate'er is faid, to fay it in due place, 
Much to referve 'till apt occafion call, 
Take this, leave that, and fitly time it all. 

In choice of diffion would you be admired, 
Nice care and fhrewd adroitnefs is required. 
Sometimes a dextrous phrafe fhall cheat the view, 
And lend to well-known words the air of new. 
But if need be abftrufer thoughts to drefs 
And in new terms new notions to exprefs, 
We'll grant you now and then to frame a word 
Which the high-girt Cethegi never heard : 
Nor fhall fuch freedoms, if difcreetly ufed 
And taken with referve, be e'er refufed. 






e. in. The Epistles. 225 

But thofe leaft fhock the ear, which trace their courfe 

With flight deflexion from a Grecian fource. 

For fay, fhall Rome from prefent bards with-hold 

A grace fo largely lavifh'd on the old ? 

Shall Virgil or fhall Varius be forbid 

To do what Plautus or Caecilius did ? 

If, when a Cato fpake or Ennius fung, 

They gifted with frefh flores their native tongue, 

Muft I a modern, with the pow'r, forbear 

To fwell the public flock with my poor fhare ? 

The poet's right none did — none dare — deny 

To put forth words imprefPd with recent die. 

As Autumn fweeps the grove's green pride away, 
The new leaves budding as the old decay, 
So words which flaunt their time in vernal bloom 
Mufl fall, and frefh ones flourifh in their room. 
Alas, proud man ! thyfelf and all that's thine 
Soon fhed their tranfient glories and decline. 
The labour'd pier that breaks the baffled tide 
And opes a bay where anchor'd navies ride ; — 
The moor and watery wafte reclaim'd, where now 
The flow ox drags the fertilizing plough; — 
The river taught to fpare the ripening grain 
And by a fafer route to join the main ; — 
Such are thy nobleft works, and fuch decay : 
And fhall the fhadowy tribes of language flay ? 
Shall Speech alone refill Time's envious tooth, 
And live and flourifh in perennial youth ? 
Full many a word, now loft, again fhall rife, 
And many a word fhall droop which now we prize, 
As fhifting Fafhion ftamps the doom of each, 
Sole umpire, arbitrefs and guide of fpeech. 

What numbers fuit the daring bard who fings 

Q 



226 



The Epistles, 



b. II. 



Embattled hofts and kings encountering kings, 
Homer has mown. In couplets fhort and long 
Firft penfive forrow pour'd her plaintive fong : 
In after- times, altho' the wifh were gain'd 
And tears gave place to fmiles, the verfe remain'd 
But Elegy's foft lay who firft ftruck out, 
Critics ftill argue and the court's in doubt. 
Rage gave Archilochus a loftier tone, 
And arm'd him with Iambics all his own. 
Thefe did the Sock and thefe the Bufkin'd mufe, 
As fuited to difcourfe alternate, chufe, 
A meafure for life's buftling action fit 
And towering o'er the thunder of the pit. 
To the bold lyre the fav'ring mufe has given 
To chaunt the powers and progeny of Heaven, 
The champion crown'd, the conquering courfer's line, 
Love's tender cares and joys of generous wine. 
To give each piece its mark'd fpecific hue, 
Hit the nice fhades and keep the colouring true, 
If niggard nature feels a tafk too hard, 
Why am I honour'd with the name of Bard ? 
Why bluih to learn if ignorant, and prefer, 
Rather than mend my error, ftill to err ? 
The comic fcene revolts at being told 
In verfe of tragic texture ftrong and bold ; 
Nor lefs Thyeftes' horrid feaft difdains 
The Sock's light chit-chat and colloquial ftrains. 
Let but each ftyle enjoy its proper place, 
Each fhall appear with dignity and grace. 
Yet comedy at times her voice can raife, 
And wrathful Chremes rails in fwelling phrafe. 
The tragic hero too, fubdued by woes, 
Stoops from his height to wail in homely profe : 



e. in. The Epistles. 227 

Peleus and Telephus, forlorn and poor, 

Spout their loud fuftian and big words no more, 

Would they one throb of fympathy impart 

And touch with kindred pangs the hearer's heart. 

'Tis not enough that poetry combine 

All fancy's charms in every founding line : 

Empaflion'd let her be, and melt at will 

The foul to pity or with horror thrill, 

From face to face as fmiles contagious creep, 

So weeps the according eye with thofe that weep. 

Who claims my tears, muft firft difplay his own ; 

Then mail I catch his pangs and fhare his moan. 

But if ye rant as if no grief were nigh, 

If in your fpeech your fufFerings ye belie, 

Ye exiled heroes ! maugre all your woes, 

'Tis ten to one I either laugh or dofe. 

Sad words befit the brow with grief o'erhung : 

Anger that fires the eye- ball, bids the tongue 

Breathe proud defiance ; fportive jell and jeer 

Become the gay ; grave maxims the fevere. 

For nature working in our nice machine 

Firft moulds the pamons to life's fitful fcene, 

Gladdens, or goads to wrath, or fraught with care 

Drags down to earth and wings us with defpair ; 

Anon a herald in the tongue me finds 

Prompt to proclaim each movement of our minds. 

But if the actor play not to the life, 

If with his words his fortunes feem at ftrife, 

Him knights and commons, horfe and foot, fhall feoff, 

And tittering thoufands hoot the blunderer off. 

Each fpeaker let his fpeech characterize : 
For fure a broad and glaring difference lies, 
Whether a God or Hero mount the ftage ; — 



228 The Epistles. b. ii. 

The brifk young fpark or man mature in age ; — 
The dame of rank or nurfe of prattling vein ; — 
The wandering feaman or the peaceful fwain; — 
One that AfTyria or that Colchis fed ;— 
He that at Argos or at Thebes was bred. 

In painting characters, or follow fame, 
Or keep your fancy piece throughout the fame. 
If haply to the ftage you fummon back 
Great Peleus' fon, adhere to Homer's track : 
Proud, ftern, relentlefs, brave, the hero draw, 
His title conquer! and the fword his law. 
Fierce be Medea and untamed by ill ; 
Ixion treacherous and ungrateful ftill ; 
Ino a mourner o'er her flaughter'd child ; 
Io an outcaft ; and Oreftes wild. 

But if you dare to launch upon the ftage 
Originals that ne'er graced poet's page, 
Let them one tenor to the laft purfue, 
Confift throughout and to themfelves be true. 
With truth's difcriminating traits to fill 
A general outline, afks no vulgar lkill : 
And fafer fhall the bard his pen employ, 
With yore, to dramatize the Tale of Troy, 
Than, venturing tracklefs regions to explore, 
Delineate characters untouch'd before. 
Yet here and there the public ground fhall yield 
Of private property an ample field, 
If neither in the trite routine you plod, 
There only treading where the reft have trod, 
Nor word for word with fervile care tranflate, 
Nor clofely copying leap into a ftrait 
Whence fear of fhame and your own rule to-boot 
Forbid you to releafe your tangled foot. 



e. in. The Epistles. 220 

Profefs not with the Cyclic bard to fing 

' Of Ilium's far-famed war and haplefs king.' 

What are this boafter's proud pretenfions worth? — 

The mountain teems, and gives a tit-moufe birth ! 

Mark with what fimple majefty the ftrain 

Of him begins who never vaunts in vain — 

' Sing, Mufe ! the man who, when Troy's bulwarks 

fell, 
* Trod various realms andmark'd their manners well.' 
With him no tranlient blaze in fmoke expires ; 
But from the fmoke burft forth abiding fires, 
From which, as fancy works, new wonders rife 
To flafh amazement on the ravifh'd eyes, — 
Antiphates, Charybdis' howling wave, 
The dogs of Scylla, and the Cyclops' cave, 
Nor does he run his fubjecl out of breath 
In dry detail from Meleager's death 
To Diomed's return ; nor yet begins 
The Trojan war from Leda and her twins : 
But polling onwards, brooking no delay, 
To the mid theme he boldly burfts his way : 
Much he anticipates as if 'twere known ; 
Much that, he feels would tire, he lets alone ; 
And fo adroitly mingles falfe with true, 
So with his fair illuiions cheats the view, 
That all the parts — beginning, middle, end — 
In one harmonious compound fweetly blend. 

Hear now what I and all the town demands, 
If you would have your audience clap their hands, 
In patience feated 'till the curtain draws 
And the laft fpeaker bows and begs applaufe. 
Mark in each ftage of life how nature veers, 
The temper varying with the varying years. 



230 The Epistles. b.'ii. 

What time the tongue has mafter'd every found 
And fteadier footfteps learn to print the ground, 
Behold the fchoolboy frolicfome and gay 
Scampering to join his comrades at their play, 
Vex'd for a ftraw, but footh'd as foon as vex'd, 
In tears this moment and in fmiles the next. 
The beardlefs youth, his freedom proud to gain, 
Loves horfes, hounds, and Mars's funny plain : 
Ductile as wax to vice his yielding foul, 
Deaf to the warning voice of dull controul, 
Profufe of purfe, impatient of delay, 
Taking no thought but for the prefent day, 
Of lofty fpirit, of affections ftrong, 
Pleafed with what's new — but pleafed with nothing 
Shifting his views, fee riper manhood crave [long. 
Place, power, and patronage, ambition's flave, — 
Wary betimes each overfight to fhun, 
And flow to do what he may wifh undone. 
A thoufand ills declining age attend, 
Still brooding o'er its bags — Hill loath to fpend, 
In counfel cold and tardy to decide, 
In thrifty forecail placing all its pride, 
Full of profpeclive blifs and prefent pain, 
Sufpicious and fplenetic, fretful, vain, 
Loud in the praifes of the good old times, 
And croaking ftern rebuke on modern crimes. 
Thus, as life's feafons in fucceflion flow, 
Oru tempers change, our paffions come and go. 
Beware then in youth's portrait to employ 
The tints of age, nor mingle man with boy : 
To every period with precilion give 
Its proper caft, and bid your picture live. 
All facts which in the Fable have a fhare 



e. in. The Epistles. 231 

Pafs on the ftage or are recorded there. 

Thofe which a tale fhall through the ear impart 

With fainter characters imprefs the heart, 

Than thofe which fubjedt to the eye's broad gaze 

The pleafed fpectator to himfelf conveys. 

Yet drag not on the ftage each horrid fcene, 

Nor fhock the fight with what mould pafs within. 

This let defcription's milder medium mow, 

And leave to eloquence her tale of woe. 

Let not the cruel Colchian mother flay 

Her fmiling infants in the face of day ; 

Nor Atreus crown the board with impious food, 

And feaft a brother with congenial blood; 

Nor Procne's form the rifing plumage take, 

Nor Cadmus fink into a ilimy fnake. 

Much that were only palling ftrange if heard, 

When feen, revolted fenfe declares abfurd. 

To five acts lengthen'd be the piece, not more, 
That afks the long applaufe and loud encore : 
Nor in the unrav'ling be a god difplay'd, 
Save where the knot difdains all humbler aid : 
Nor in diffracting dialogue engage 
At once four fpeakers on the crowded ftage, 

The Chorus fhould an actor's part fuftain, 
Join in the bufy fcene nor join in vain ; 
Nor chaunt between the acts what does not tend 
To aid the theme and with the action blend. 
A ready patron ftill on Virtue's fide, 
With friendly lore her votaries let it guide — 
Greet thofe who fear to fwerve from duty's path, 
And curb with bold rebuke revenge and wrath : 
Let it the tribute of its praife afford 
To fober diet and the fimple board — 



232 The Epistles. b. ii. 

Efpoufe fair juftice the fupport of flates, 

Law's righteous fword, and peace with open gates — 

Hold fail the fecret trufled to its care — 

And to the Gods put up a fervent prayer 

That fickle Fortune may at their behefl 

Turn from the' oppreflbr to relieve the' opprefl. 

The pipe in days of yore not brazen-bound, 
As now, nor rivalling the trumpet's found, 
But of few flops and (lender compafs, Hill 
Served to fupport the Chorus, and to fill 
A narrow line of feats that with no crowd 
Of countlefs hearers hitherto o'erflow'd ; — 
Seats, where a people thin in numbers yet, 
Decent and chafle and plain and frugal, met* 
But, when by war the realm was wider grown 
And walls of ampler circuit girt the town, — 
When on a day of revels to begin 
The feafl from noontide was no more a fin, 
A larger licenfe and a feope lefs rude 
Both to the mafic and the verfe accrued. 
For what fhould that mixM audience have of taile, 
Clown group'd with cit and boors by nobles placed ? 
Thus did the piper fuperadd erelong 
The charms of geilure to the powers of fong, — 
With pantomimic grace his fenfe expreil, 
And trail'd along the boards the floating veil. 
Thus too, its tones increafed, the lyre fevere 
Pour'd richer warblings on the ravifiYd ear ; 
The mufe in loftier numbers learn'd to foar, 
Imp'd her bold plume for flights untried before, 
And fraught with fire prophetic bade each line 
Rival the raptures of the Delphian fhrine, 

He that in tragic lay late flrain'd his throat 



e. in. The Epistles. 233 

To win the paltry prize — a fhaggy goat, 

Soon bared upon the ftage a fylvan crew 

And brought the wanton Satyrs forth to view ; — 

The folemn tone not wholly laid afide, 

To humour and burlefque his hand applied; — 

And fought by grateful novelty of fong 

To rivet to their feats a boofy throng 

From feflive rites and revels jufl fet free, 

Ripe for loofe pranks and full of tipfy glee. 

Yet fo to ihift from grave to gay 'twere fit, — 

So temper the light Satyrs' faucy wit, 

That not each God, each Hero, that of late 

Stalk'd forth in purple robes and royal Hate, 

Anon mould all his pomp of fpeech let down 

To the low flang and gabble of a clown, 

Or fleering heaven-wards his flight too fait 

Grafp empty clouds and foar into bombafl. 

The tragic mufe, with baihfulnefs fevere, 

Difdaining the bafe gibe and trivial jeer, 

Will, like a matron whom the priefl perchance 

Calls at fome folemn feflival to dance, 

Amid the lkittifh Satyrs hull be feen 

Diflinguifh'd by her ftaid and fober mien. 

Were I, my friends, to write Satyric plays, 

Not wholly to low terms and homely phrafe 

Would I refine! my pen ; nor fo refufe 

The richer colouring of the Tragic mufe, 

As that no difference mould be mark'd between 

What waggifh Davus in the comic fcene 

Or Pythias prates, when in her knavery bold 

She bubbles fimple Simo of his gold, — 

And what Silenus, when he fleps abroad 

The fofler guardian of the nurfling god. 



234 The Epistles. b. ii. 

Some well-known legend mould fupport my theme ; 

This with fuch art I'd trace, that each fhould deem 

He too could match the verfe, — then tafk his brain, 

And toiling long confefs his efforts vain. 

Such merit is to plan and ftruclure due ! 

To vulgar themes fuch glory may accrue ! 

But let the Fauns Hill mindful what they are, 

Fetch'd from the woods, by my advice beware 

(As if at Rome they all their life had led, 

Born in our flreets and in our Forum bred) 

They tattle in a languid love-fick ftyle, 

Or bolt unfeemly jefts and ribald vile. 

For each that boafls birth, rank, and confequence 

At fuch low tram is apt to take offence, 

Nor all with patience hears or deigns to crown 

That with the nut-and-grey-peafe tribe goes down. 

Two fyllables, rlrft fhort, then long, combine 
To frame the light Iambus j whence the line, 
Though to the ear fix feveral beats it bears, 
Was furnamed Trimeter and fcann'd by pairs. 
This meafure, as its priftine form was caft, 
Flow'd uniformly on from firfl to laft. 
But after no long time, to greet the ear 
With more majeftic grace and weight fevere, 
The foot, its birth-right waived, gen'rous and free, 
Took in joint partnerfhip the grave Spondee, 
One fpecial privilege referving ftill — 
That every even place itfelf mould fill. 
" Not fo (fays one) march the bold trimeters 
" Of Accius — Ennius; There it fcarce occurs." 
Yet, maugre fuch high names, that author's page 
Who thus with ponderous cadence loads the ftage, 
Speaks either grofs neglect and flovenly hafle, 



e. in. The Epistles. 235 

Or ignorance of his art and want of tafle. 

Not every reader, it is true, has fkill 

To judge if verfe be modulated ill; 

And too indulgent Rome has fondly nurfed 

This laxnefs in her poets from the firft. 

But what of that ? If readers will be fools, 

Muft I run riot and defpife all rules, 

Safe in that fault forfooth which, ev'n if feen 

By all the world, long ufe perhaps mall fcreen ? 

Poor boaft, to fay, " I have efcaped from blame, 

" But after all to praife can urge no claim ! " 

Tour ftandard then be Greece ! Her models bright 

By day perufe, and re- per ufe by night ! 

Our forefathers, goodnatured eafy folks, 

Extoll'd the numbers and enjoy'd the jokes 

Of Plautus, prompt both thefe and thofe to hear 

With tolerant — not to fay, with taitelefs — ear : 

At leaft if you and I with fenfe are bleft 

To tell a clownifh from a courtly jeft, 

Or, by the finger's aid and ear's to-boot, 

Can take juft meafure of a verfe and foot. 

Thefpis, we're told, the tragic fong ftruck out, 
And in rude waggons hawk'd his plays about : 
His corps dramatic, every brow with lees 
Of wine befmear'd, there fung and acled thefe. 
Next ^Efchylus brought on the trailing pall 
And vifor, rear'd a flage on platform fmall, 
To ftrut in bufkin'd pride his a&ors taught, 
And gave big utterance to the manly thought. 
The antique Comedy was next begun, 
Nor light applaufe her frolic freedom won ; — 
But, into flanderous outrage waxing fall, 
Call'd for the curb of law ; — that law was paft ; — 



236 The Epistles. b. ii, 

And thus, its right of wronging quickly o'er, 
Her chorus fank abafh'd to rife no more. 
Nought have our vent'rous poets left untried : 
Nor is it in the wreath which crowns their pride 
The meaneft plume, that many a Roman bard 
Spurning the Grecian track, has boldly dared 
To chaunt domeftic themes, — alike, I trow, 
In border'd robe or plain, high life or low. 
Nor would the name of Latium Hand renown'd 
On martial more than on Parnaman ground, 
Were not our every bard fo loathe the while 
To brook the paufe and labour of the file. 
Praife you no piece, my noble friends, but what 
Has been through many an hour and many a blot 
Corrected, ten times poifed in judgment's fcale, 
And fmooth'd like fculpture to the critic nail ! 

Becaufe Democritus thinks fit to call 
Art nothing-worth and genius all-in-all, 
And flernly bids each fober mufe's fon 
Renounce the verdant heights of Helicon, 
There are in whom a wondrous whim prevails 
Neither to trim their beard nor pare their nails ; 
Where crowded baths invite, they come not nigh, 
But to lone caves and iilent deferts fly. 
For oh ! he fhines a bard confeft, be fure, 
Whofe poll (which three Anticyras could not cure) 
To barber Licinus was ne'er confign'd ! 
Fool that I am, who, though to verfe inclined, 
Purge every fpring the wit-infpiring bile ! 
How matchlefs, but for this, had been my ftyle ! 
No matter : mine be like the whet-ilone's aid, 
Which, blunt itfelf, lends fharpnefs to the blade. 
While others pra&ife, precept I'll impart, 



e. in. The Epistles. 237 

And, though no artift, prove a friend to art, 
Whence all the bard's refources flow, I'll teach ; — 
What his juft functions, and how far they reach ; 
What kindles and what fans the facred fire ? 
What courfe muft train him, and what themes infpire ; 
What breeds the foul, and what the fair befriends ; 
And whither iitnefs, whither failure tends. 

In the philofophy of man to' excel 
Is the prime root and fpring of writing well. 
Matter the page Socratic bell can fhow ; 
That once provided, words will freely flow. 
When Lore has open'd to the poet's view 
To country what and what to friends is due ; — 
In what juft portion man beneath the names 
Of parent, brother, hoft, affection claims ; — 
To what the fenator, the judge, is bound, 
Or chief pavilion'd high on tented ground ; — 
Doubt not but he each character fhall fcan 
And fhrewdly fit the manners to the man. 
Befides — to copy nature to the life — 
Go, mark the world, explore its bufy ftrife, 
To living fcenes for truth's expreflion look ; 
There dip your pen and make mankind your book. 
Oft has the play wherein thefe virtues dwell, 
Set off with fentiment and mannered well, — 
Though elfe uncouth and rude in every part, 
Devoid of ftrength, wit, elegance, or art,— [prifed, 
More charm'd an audience — more their hearts fur- 
Than faithlefs grace and nonfenfe harmonized. 

Genius to Greece, to Greece the pride of phrafe 
Heaven gave, of nothing covetous but praife. 
Not fo our youth, who cramp'd by hopeful drilling 
Learn into fifty parts to fplit one fhilling. 



238 The Epistles. b. ii. 

Let young Albinus folve the problem fought ; 
Take one from five-pence ; what refults ? — A groat. 
Good ! you're the boy to thrive ! But come, explain, 
If added, what? — A teller. — Good again ! — 
Where hearts thus train'd to petty pelf we find, 
And ruft like this has canker'd o'er the mind, 
Who'd look for finifh'd poems, wrought with toil, 
Worthy the cyprefs cafe and cedar oil ? 

To teach — to pleafe — comprife the poet's views, 
Or elfe at once to profit and amufe. 
In precept be concife : what thus is told 
The mind mail grafp with eafe, with firmnefs hold : 
While all, that's heap'd fuperfluous, lhocks the tafte, 
From memory's tablet fades, and runs to wafle. 
Let fancy's wild creation, though defign'd 
Lefs to improve than to amufe the mind, 
Copied at leaft from nature's fcene appear, 
And to a femblance of the truth adhere, — 
Nor tax the reader's faith too far, or draw 
The breathing infant from the goblin's maw. 
Greybeards will damn what fails in ufeful truth ; 
Dry common-place will pall on buxom youth : 
But he who precept with amufement blends, 
And charms the fancy while the heart he mends, 
Wins every fuifrage. Rarely mall he mifs 
To' enrich the Sofii with a piece like this : 
Seas mall it traverfe, and the writer's page 
Hand down his glories to a diftant age. 

Yet there occur in almoft every book 
Specks which the niceft tafte muft overlook. 
For neither always will the minftrel's lyre 
Give back the note his ear and hand require ; 
He alks a grave, the chord a fharp remits : 









-■ 



in. The Epistles. 239 

The archer aims — the bow not always hits. 

If then a poem charm me in the main, 

Slight faults I'll not too rigidly arraign, 

Which frail humanity has here and there 

Let fall from overiight or want of care. 

To draw the line, then, thus our cafe will fland : 

As that tranfcriber who with pen in hand, 

Though warn'd of lapfes pall, repeats the fame, 

With no fair plea can parry off the blame ; — 

As all would flout the lyriil who mould ring 

Harlh difcord always on the felf-fame firing; — 

Such is to me the ever-blundering bard. 

He links a Chcerilus in my regard, 

In whom perceiving haply once a-while 

Some cafual gleams of wit I Hart and fmile ; 

Vex'd, on the other hand, if now and then 

Short fits of flumber creep on Homer's pen : 

Howbeit at times the noblefl bard, I think, 

In works of long attempt may fairly wink. 

For poems are like piclures : fome appear 

Belt in the diflance, others flanding near ; 

This loves the fhade ; while that the light endures, 

Nor fhuns the nicefl ken of connoiffeurs : 

This charms for once, and then the charm is o'er ; 

While that, the more furvey'd, llill charms the more. 

Hear, elder youth ! and mark my maxim well : 
Though by a father's leffons you excel 
In judgment found, and all his tafle inherit ; — 
A middling worth, a modicum of merit 
To certain arts the world may well concede. 
In court or chamber, this, perhaps, fhall plead, 
Short of MefTala's fkill, his client's caufe — 
That, fhort of Aulus' depth, expound the laws : 



240 The Epistles. b. ii 

Yet each of ufe, each in requeft may be : 

Retain'd — confulted — each may earn his fee. 

But of poetic worth a moderate Jhare 

Not Men — not Gods — not Bookfellers can bear. 

As muiic out of tune at feftive board, 

Seed-cakes of honey from Sardinia ftored, 

Or unguents void of fcent, each gueft difpleafe, 

Becaufe the feaft might well difpenfe with thefe ;— 

So verfe, whofe office and effential end 

Is to delight the foul, — unlefs it tend 

To aid, not mar, the purpofe of its birth, — 

Fails in the balance and is nothing-worth, — 

He that ne'er join'd the lifts in Mars's field, 

Forbears to take up arms he cannot wield ; 

He that ne'er pitch'd the quoit nor toft the ball 

Nor whirl'd the troque, fhuns to contend at all, 

Fearing the titter of the crowded ring :— 

Yet he fings verfe, who never learn'd to fing. 

" Why not" — fays one — " of Knight's eftate fecure^ 

" Of liberal birth, fair fame, and morals pure ?"" 

Nought e'er will you, I'm fure, in nature's fpite, 

(Such is your fenfe and prudence) fpeak or write. - 

But, if at fome chance hour you ought compofe, 

See 'tis correct 'ere to the world it goes ; 

Submit it iirft to Tarpa's critic ears, 

Your fire's, and mine ; and keep your piece nine years. 

What is not publifh'd, you can blot or burn ; 

But words, once utter'd, never can return. 

Orpheus of old, Heaven's prophet and high-prieft, 
Drew from their butcherous coil and wild-wood feaft 
Barbarian hordes, hence fabled to affuage 
The tiger's ravin and gaunt lion's rage. 
Amphion too, who rear'd the Theban towers, 






e. in. The Epistles. 241 

Was faid by his fofi fhell's perfuafive powers 

To heave the marble fragment from its bafe 

And witch the flones at pleafure to their place. 

For in thofe olden times the fage's art 

Was but to circumfcribe men's rights, and part 

Public from private — facred from profane, 

Protect juft wedlock, vagrant lull reflrain, 

Build rampired towns, engrave their laws on wood, 

And knit the bands of focial brotherhood. 

Thus verfe feem'd Heaven's own gift in times fo rude, 

And thus high reverence to the bard accrued. 

Next Homer rofe in Epic glory bright ; 

And bold Tyrtaeus roufed to martial fight 

Embattled hofts : In verfe were now made known 

Fate's high behefts, in verfe life's duties fhown : 

By tuneful flatteries every mufe's fon 

The fmile of mighty monarchs fought and won : 

And verfe fupplied, at labour's welcome clofe, 

A cheering paftime and a fweet repofe. 

Thus much, left haply by a blufh you wrong 

The choir Pierian and the God of fong. 

'Tis afk'd, if this fame knack its rife mult owe 
To plodding art, or from boon nature flow. 
To me nor art without rich gifts of mind, 
Nor yet mere genius rude and unrefined, 
Seems equal to the tafk. They each require 
The aid of each, and muft as friends confpire. 
He, who to Pifa's goal would foremoft run, 
Much from his youth has fuffer'd — much has done ; 
Has fweated — fhiver'd, patient to refign 
The foul-enfeebling joys of love and wine. 
The Pythian piper has been fain to plod 
The weary tafk, and fhrunk beneath the rod. 



242 The Epistles. b. ii. 

But in this art, forfooth, one needs but fay — 
" I'm born a poet ; Blockheads, clear the way ! 
" Plague take the hindmoft I Genius fcorns to own 
" Dull precept's aid, or what's unlearnt unknown. ,s 

As fome fly mountebank with trumpet loud 
To buy his wares invites a gaping crowd, 
So would-be poets, rich in purfe and land, 
Tempt with fine penny-worths the flattering band. 
Is there a fcribbler who can well afford 
With lufcious cates to crown a fmoking board — 
Can bail the wretch whofe credit flags, and draw 
The foot of beggary from the noofe of law — 
'Twere palling flrange if fuch a coxcomb knew 
The difference 'twixt a falfe friend and a true. 
Be then advifed ; and — does the varlet live 
To whom you ought have given or mean to give, 
Brimful of gratitude for favours paft, 
With hopes thofe favours fhall not prove the laft — 
Him, when to friends you would fome piece rehearfe, 
Afk not to fit in judgment on your verfe. 
For Good ! Rare! Charming! will be all his cry, 
While tears of tranfport trickle from his eye : 
Anon enraptured from his feat he'll bound, 
Change colour, clap his hands, and ffamp the ground. 
As with hired mummers in a funeral train, 
Who feel the grief rant lefs than thofe who feign ; 
So will the laugher-in-his-fleeve appear 
More moved than one whofe praifes are fincere. 
Wife kings, 'tis faid, who prudently intend 
To prove the courtier 'ere they call him friend, 
Ply him with copious bumpers, till the bowl 
Has gently wrung each fecret from the foul. 
Bards ! watch your critics, left a borrow'd fkin 
With fpecious covering mafk the fox within. 



e. in. The Epistles. 243 

If to Quintilius you recited ought, 
" Pray change/' he'd fay, " this word ; retouch that 
If you protefted that the pafTage penn'd [thought." 
You twice or thrice had toil'd in vain to mend, 
" Blot out then," he'd reply, f * the ill- wrought ftrain ! 
" Back to the anvil with this trafh again !" 
If you chofe rather to difpute his tafte 
Than mend your piece, no further would he wafle 
Or time or pains, but leave you to admire 
Yourfelf and dogg'rel to your heart's defire. 

The genuine critic will with honeft zeal, 
Feigning no raptures which he does not feel, 
Trim all redundant ornament away, 
On the obfcure let in a lucid ray, 
Blot the ambiguous, blame the loofely penn'd, 
And prove the Ariftarchus in the friend. 
Nor will he fay — " Why rudely mould I teafe 
u The friend I love for trifles fuch as thefe r " 
For know, thefe trifles, while you lack the will 
To fpeak plain truth, oft lead to ferious ill : 
As to his coil that friend 'erelong fhall own, 
When made the butt and by- word of the town. 

As the lorn wretch whom leprous fcabs devour 
Or jaundice gilds — one by Diana's pow'r 
Moon-ftricken, or by Pan convulfed with fits — 
Such is the poet who has loft his wits. 
The wife all fhun him, while a heedlefs throng 
Hoot at his heels where'er he prowls along. 
Bellowing his verfe with head uprear'd, his eye 
' Rolling in frenfy fine' from earth to fky, 
If (like a fowler on his feather'd prey 
Intent) he chance to' encounter in his way 
Some ditch or pit, he long enough may fhout 
Help, neighbours y bo ! — for none will haul him out. 



244 The Epistles. b. ii. 

But, were there fome whom pity moved to fetch 

A rope and drag to life the crack-brain'd wretch, 

" Hold, firs ! " I'd cry ; " For ought that you can tell, 

" The mad-cap plunged on purpofe in this well, 

" And wiihes not to live," — Anon the fate 

Of Sicily's famed poet I'd relate : 

" Empedocles with lore celeflial fraught, 

" A deathlefs god afpiring to be thought, 

" Leap'd into fiery ^Etna in cold blood. 

" Thefe bards are licenfed (be it underftood) 

" To perifh as they lift. Againft his will 

" To fave a foul were barbarous as to kill. 

" Nor is it his flrft freak : and, were it croft 

" By your kind zeal, 'twere ftill but labour loft : 

" He'd foon relapfe, foon play the fame mad game, 

" And by felf-flaughter feek a deathlefs name. 

" Nor is it altogether clear, why firft 

" His bofom with this fcribbling itch was curft : 

" Who knows but vengeance bade him thus atone 

" Sins of deep dye ? who knows but he has thrown 

" Some dread Bidental from its hallow'd bafe, 

" Or to a father's alhes done difgrace ? 

" One thing is plain : — he has his fits of rage, 

' ' And then, as if fome bear had burft its cage, 

" With loathfome recitation puts to flight 

" Learned and fimple. Woe betides the wight, 

" Who meets his clutch at that unlucky time : 

" Him will he read to death and ftun with rhyme ; 

" A very leech that drains our vital flood, 

<( Nor quits his ruthlefs hold 'till gorged with blood !" 



FINIS. 



NOTES 




NOTES. 



THE EPODES, 



Epode IL p. 4. 

" More pkafed around tall poplars to efpoufe" 

« ^"pHURSDAY, Oft. 14, 1779. Patted be- 
X tween very pleafant vineyards and gardens to 
the bottom of St. Nicola, the higheft mountain in the 
ifland (of ' Ij r chia). The vines both here and in Procida 
are very high and fupported chiefly by poplars." Dr. 
S. Neville's Journal of his Tour to Italy, penes me. 
" Monday, Nov. 8, 1779. Road to Caferta pleaf- 
ant, much like that to Verfa and Capua. Olivi e 
Pioppi con Vtgne on each fide, and under them the land 
cultivated with various herbs and roots." Ibid. From 
which laft extract I conclude that in land fit for gen- 
eral cultivation, the poplar was preferred by good 
managers to the elm for training their vines, as lefs 
overfhadowing the ground and hindering vegetation 
beneath. But ne futor, Sec. 



248 Notes to 

Epode V. p. 9. 
" The for eerie s of Canidia" 

Dr. Jofeph Warton, in his EfTay on Pope, pointing 
out the dramatic turn of fome of Horace's Odes, 
obferves : — " Of this kind is the whole of the fifth 
Epode It fuddenly breaks out with a beau- 
tiful and forcible abruptnefs : At O Deorum .... 
truces? It is a boy that utters thefe words, who 
beholds himfelf furrounded by a horrible band of 
witches, with Canidia at their head ; who inflantly 
feize and flrip him, in order to make a love-potion of 
his body [liver]. He proceeds to deprecate their un- 
defended rage by moving fupplications, and fuch as 
are adapted to his age and fituation : Per liberos te 
.... ferro bellua. The poet goes on to enumerate, 
with due folemnity, the ingredients of the charm . . . 
Canidia, having placed the victim in a pit, where he 
was gradually to be flarved to death, begins to fpeak 
in the following awful and linking manner : O rebus 
meis . . . numen vertite, &c. But fhe fuddenly flops, 
furprifed to fee the incantation fail : Quid accidit . . . 
Medea valent ? In a few lines more a fhe difcovers the 
reafon wherefore her charms are inefficacious : Ab 
ah folutus, £ff r. She refolves, therefore, to double 
them : Majus parabo .... poculum ; and concludes 
with this fpirited threat : Priufque caelum . . . ignibus. 
The boy, on hearing his fate thus cruelly determined, 
no longer endeavours to fue for mercy, but breaks 
out into thofe bitter and natural execrations, mixed 



THE EPODES. 249 

with a tender mention of his parents, which reach to 
the end of the ode. 

If we confider how naturally the fear of the boy 
is exprefled in the firft fpeech, and how the dreadful 
character of Canidia is fupported in the fecond, and 
the various turns of pafTion with which fhe is agita- 
ted, — and if we add to thefe the concluding impre- 
cations, we mull own that this affords a noble fpeci- 
men of the dramatic powers of Horace." 

Epode VI. p. 12. 

" Not Parian bard's lampoon, c5V." 

To underftand the force of the allufions, the reader 
may confult Lempriere's ClaiTical Dictionary, under 
the articles Lycambes and Hipponax. 

Epode XIV. p. 19. 

" But, if a fairer flame beleaguered not 
Troy's towers ," c5V. 

" In the original it is, You yourfelf are inflamed. 
And if no brighter fire confumed Troy, &c. This 
appears to be a falfe comparifon ; for in the iirfl in- 
ftance the flame is metaphorical, in the laft it is real. 
The excellent Dr. Bernard, of Eton, whofe facetious 
turn was his leaft accomplifhment, ufed fometimes to 
entrap his fcholars by quoting the well-known lines 
of Waller:— 

Such Helen was ; and who can blame the boy 
That in fo bright a flame confumed his Troy ? 



250 Notes to 

And then afking them if there was anywhere fo 
falfe a thought in the works of the ancients ? On their 
immediately anfwering in the negative, he cited thefe 
lines of Horace, from which Waller's are evidently 
copied." — Boscawen. 

I have inferted the above note, as well on account 
of the juftice of the criticifm in general, as for the fake 
of- the interefling anecdote appended. The original 
however, might have been more ftriclily rendered — 
You yourfe/f burn [with love;] but, if a fairer flame 
fired not befieged Troy, tffr. The word ignis, like 
our flame, is frequently ufed to exprefs the objecl: of 
one's love ; (as me us ignis Amyntas, in Virg. Eel. iii. 
66.) Indeed this application of the words is fo com- 
mon, that the metaphor involved in it is fcarcely per- 
ceived. Blair, who is fomewhat faftidious in fuch 
matters, in noticing the mixed metaphor of Horace's 
lines — Quanta labor as in Chary bdi, Digne puer me- 
liore flamma ! — adds : " Flame is, indeed, become 
almoft a literal word for the pamon of love ; but, as 
it {till retains in fome degree its figurative power, it 
mould never have been ufed as fynonymous with 
water, and mixed with it in the fame metaphor." — 
Moreover, it is a trite figure of fpeech to reprefent 
that as the doer of a thing, which is in truth only the 
inducement or occafion of its being done. Helen is 
faid by Euripides (Hec. 266) to have flain Achilles 
and brought him to Troy. The gold depofited in 
the care of Polymeflor is faid (ibid. 1 1 88) to have 
murdered Polydorus. And Virgil (JEn. xii. 948) 
makes his hero, in giving the death-blow to Turnus, 
exclaim, Pallas te hoc vulnere, Pallas immolat. Con- 



THE EPODES. 25I 

fidering all this, I am inclined to think that the falfe 
comparifon here noticed by Mr. Bofcawen, though 
certainly indefenfible in itfelf, is rather to be viewed 
as a carnal overfight, than as a ftudied conceit. Our 
Waller's offence, whether copied from Horace or not, 
fcarcely admits even this apology. 

Epode XV. p. 20. 

u And I deride thy plaints in turn /" 

This is the only inflance of a Dimeter Iambic verfe 
in Horace beginning with a Da&yl — Aft ego. That 
accurate fcholar, Dr. Charles Burney, ufed to tell his 
pupils, that Aft was probably a glofs, and that the 
author wrote Ego vicijfim rifero y which at the fame 
time feems more pointed. In contrafling two things 
very flrongly, the Roman writers were accuftomed to 
omit all conjunctions. Horace furnifhes an example 
in his firft Book of Odes, Ode 25, v. ult. Probably 
the Doctor did not confider Epod. III. 8 and V. 48 
juft exceptions, as reading in both thofe places Canid- 
ja s like Principjum, Confeljum> Naftdjenus, Vindem- 
jator, Abjete, Parjete, &c. where the letter j is to 
be pronounced in the Italian manner, or as our v. 

Epode XVII. p. 28. 

" And rack by proxy whom I hate — " 
See the 8th Satire of B. 1. 



252 Notes to 

Ibid. 

€€ Baffled by fuch a worm as thee." 

This laft line is borrowed from Alexander Brome, 
2nd edition, 1 671. 



M 



THE SECULAR ODE. 

P. 31. 

Bright gems of ether ! grant the fuit preferred 

At this fix V hour" tsV. 

R. Gr. Penn (Blurt, of Virgil's fourth Eel. pp. 
167 — 181) fhows that Auguftus had already 
celebrated thefe Rites in the year 715, reckoning from 
the fourth celebration in 605, the prefcribed period of 
22 Luftra or 1 10 years having elapfed from that time. 
But the Quindecimviral college having on a clofer 
inflection of the Sibylline books, difcovered that the 
whole feries of Feftivals had been kept irregularly, 
and that the end of 737 was the proper time for the 
fifth celebration to fall, and upon which it would 
have fallen, had the rule been punctually obferved 
from the firft, Auguftus celebrated thefe Rites again 
in all ftriclnefs and with increafed fplendour. On 
this ground Mr. Penn defends the reading tempore 
prifco in v. 5, ; \vhich Baxter with Gefner has adopted 
from the old Scholiaft. It alludes, he thinks, to the 



the Secular Ode. 253 

reformation of the Feftival in 737, when the order of 
the Games was reftored to the priftine rule. " Grant," 
fays the poet, " what we now aik in that originally 
inftitutedfeafon, in which the Sibylline verfes enjoined 
us to repeat the Hymn." 

Ibid. p. 33. 

" Nor lefs will She fo long on Aventine" 

" Vifited the Chief a delta Santa S a bin a, formerly 
the temple of Diana Aventina, the form of which is 
preferved. Twenty- two fluted Corinthian columns 
of Grecian marble fupport the nef in their original 
pofitions, avec bafes anciennes, rien de reft ore, in the 
words of my old guide Orlandi. The ancient forte 
d* entree flill remains at the lower end; the Frieze 
and Cornice extremely fine." Dr. S. Neville's Private 
Journal, penes me. Date, Rome, July 20, 1778. 

Ibid. 

" Lifts and approves, with all the Hoft above, 

Thefe choral lays." 

Every reader probably knows, from Francis's trans- 
lation, the lingular piece of fancy patchwork of Pere 
Sanadon, in which by prefixing to this other Odes 
and Fragments of Odes picked out of the four books, 
and dividing all between choirs of Boys and Virgins, 
who occafionally join in full chorus, he has contrived 
to get up a fort of Heathen Oratorio. No one needs 
to be told, that all this is a mere " bafelefs vifion." But 
the following anecdote, derived from the MS. Jour- 



254 Notes to 

nal already more than once cited, willperhaps be as 
new and amufing to the reader, as it was to me. 

cc Monday, April 13th, 1782. — Went this even- 
ing to hear the Carmen Sseculare of Horace, as fet 
to mufic by Mons. Philidor, the famous chefs-player, 
and no inconsiderable compofer of mufic, as his fuc- 
cefs in this lingular attempt fufriciently tefbifies. In 
many paflages this performance was fublime, in others 
pleafingly folemn, and throughout exprefhve of the 
facred rites which thefe fongs were originally com- 
pofed to celebrate. Mons, Salomon, of whofe fame 
I have heard much fince his arrival in this country, 
led the band, and played a long Concerto after the 
performance. I do not think him equal to Cramer, 
though it mull be confefled his execution is consid- 
erable, and his manner bold. Both feem to me de- 
ficient in fweetnefs of tone. Florio played the firil 
flute, and Mr. Parke (a capital performer,) the oboe. 
The vocal parts by Manzoletto, Reynbold, and La 
Signora Giorgi Banti, whom I had not heard before. 
The chorus were in the orcheftra, all the other per- 
formers a parterre. The gefliculation of Pbilidor, 
beating time to his own mulic, with great anxiety, 
was a true picture of the feelings of a thorough mu- 
fician." 



the Satires. 255 



THE SATIRES. BOOK I. 

Satire I. p. 37. 

THIS Satire has, by Lord Karnes and others, 
been cried down as defultoiy and void of con- 
nexion. The charge is not altogether groundlefs, be- 
cause the lines of tranfition (it mull be confefTed) are 
fomewhat too faintly marked. But to an attentive rea- 
der the general train of thought will be tolerably evi- 
dent. The poet fets out with remarking the fpirit of 
envy and felf-love, which induces every man to fancy 
fome other perfon's lot in life happier than his own. 
And yet (he goes on to fay) if a mutual interchange 
were miraculoufly placed within their reach, they 
would to a man refufe ; and why ? — becaufe the fame 
principle of envy, operating on a larger fcale, makes 
each eager to furpafs his neighbour in wealth. Thus the 
poet (ut fuus eft mos) flides into his main fubjecl:, 
which is, the abfurdity of coveting more than the fim- 
ple wants of nature require. He then anticipates 
various objections and excufes on the part of the ava- 
ricious, and having anfwered each of them in detail, 
reverts (v. 108) to his original view of the fubjecl:, 
namely, that it is envy at the lot of others which con- 
flitutes the main fource of this fame vice of covet- 
oufnefs. 



256 Notes to 

Satire I. p. 38. 

" What hinders but that Jove, with burly f cow I" 

* e Black-brow'd and bluff, like Homer's Jupiter." — 
Dryden, in his defcription of King Buzzard (alias 
Bifhop Burnet) in the Hind and the Panther, Part 3. 

Ibid. 

** This tapfler-like retailer of the laws" 

To the Englifh reader the tranflation here will fuffi- 
ciently explain itfelf. The words of the original, Per- 
fidus hie caupo, have given rife to much difcuffion and 
conjecture. Some have imagined that a new char- 
after is introduced, that of vintner, in lieu of the 
chamber-counfellor. But the ufe of hie — ilk, with 
the exact re-enumeration of the other characters, viz. 
the merchant, the foldier, and the farmer, forbid this 
interpretation to be tolerated for an inftant. Mark- 
land's half-jocular, half-ferious, conjecture of Caufe- 
dicus vafer hie, waiving all other objections, would be 
fcarcely tenable, on the ground that the pleader and 
the juris -confult, though doubtlefs often united in the' 
fame perfon, were by no means necefTarily or univer- 
fally identified. To Bifhop Lowth's (or rather Dr. 
Cockman's) far more plaufible conjecture of cautor 
for caupo, the infuperable objection is, that it would 
apply the epithet of per -fidus (a cheat) to a character 
of the higheft dignity and refpectability. See Mid- 
dleton's Life of Cicero for a defcription of the office 
ofajuris-confultus in thofe times, however much after- 



the Satires. 257 

wards degraded in Rome by a departure from the gra- 
tuitous fyftem. To be fhort, the words of Horace 
may be thus paraphrafed : — " Hie juris-confultus, 
cui mos eft, quemadmodum perfidus caupo emptoribus 
promit vina, lie (Hor. Epift. II. i. 104) mane domo 
vigilare, clienti promere jura" The wit is of that 
fpecies which confifts in coupling the great with the 
mean. The epithet perfidus muft be taken as defcrip- 
tive, not of the lawyer, but of the vintner with whom 
he is compared, or rather (after Horace's ufual man- 
ner) identified. The vintners of Italy were proverb- 
ially cheats : our author in his Journey to Brundu- 
fium terms them maligni ; and Martial (xii. 48) ufes 
the very fame epithet with Horace in the paflage be- 
fore us, — " Et Vaticani perfida vappa cadi." 

Satire I. p. 39. 

" And you by Aufidus be fwept away" 

This alluiion to the river Aufidus in the diftricl of 
Appulia, where Horace was born, fufficiently mows 
that this whole Satire is to be coniidered as one of 
thofe felf- colloquies which he occaflonally (illudebat 
chartis) penned down in fportive rhyme. See Sat. I. 
iv. 137 — 9, and Epift, II. ii. 145 to the end. 

Satire I. p. 41. 

kf At lafl a wench of true Tyndarid vein" 

For this abridged form of the patronymic, I muft 
fupport myfelf on the authority of Spenfer : 



258 Notes to 



-When Paris brought his famous prize 



The fair Tyndarid lafs- 

F. Qy B. IV. Cant. xi. Stan. 19, 

Ibid. 

" Much as they differ, Tanais I admire" 

The allufion here is, and ever mull remain, uncer- 
tain. The attempt of the old fcholiaft to explain it 
bears a very mfpicious appearance, as if it were a mere 
invention of his own to cloak his ignorance. How 
hard the requifitions were upon the grammatici of 
later times, who undertook to explain the poets of the 
Auguftan age in their fchools, we learn from Juvenal ; 
and the temptation to invent fuch explanations prob- 
ably grew as time advanced. 

Satire I. p. 42. 

" All view their own condition as the worft y" 

The conflrudtion here, which has been fome times 
mifapprehended, is, " Utne nemo, avarus, fe probet, 
&c!" So Ter. Phorm. A61. II. Sc. 1. Egon illam 
cum illo ut patiar nuptam unum diem 1 

Satire III. p. 45. 

" Look o'er thine own p aft follies" — " So I do" 
Retorts the wag, " and overlook them too" 

In the original there is a pun, which turns upon 
the different acceptations of the verb ignofco and its 



the Satires. 259 

participle ignotus. In what profefTes to be a bon-mot 
fome fimilar play upon words became neceffary, and 
I have only to regret that I could not do more juftice 
to Maenius's jeft, fuch as it is. 

It would, methinks, be a fit penalty for all punfters, 
to be compelled to tranflate their own puns into fome 
other language, and fo (like Perillus) arte perire fua. 

Satire III. p. 46. 

" As parents in their offspring, fo Jhould we 
Seek to extenuate ev y n the fault we fee" 

This tendency to extenuate the perfonal defects of 
thofe whom we love, is touched upon by Plato (Rep. 
V. p. 466), by Lucretius (IV. n 54 fq.)> by Qvid 
(A. A. II. 657); and of the moderns, by Moliere 
(Mifant. Aft II. Sc. 5), and by Ign. Sancho (Lett. 
29), though with fome difference in the application, 
I would here obferve, that nothing is more eafy than 
to make a difplay by collecting /tfrtf//^/pafTages, which 
(by the way), as I have feen it wittily remarked, are 
often rather worthy to be called perpendiculars than 
parallels. I claim my readers' thanks for being fpar- 
ing in this particular^ 

Satire III. p. 47. 

** The blundering booby fur e wants common-fenfe" ; 

Communis fenfus flricUy means a promptnefs to 
enter into the feelings of others, or what we call/W- 
loio-feeling. But in a tranflation fuch nice diftinc- 



260 Notes to 

tions may be difpenfed with. Still in a note 
difference Teemed worth noticing. 



Ibid. 

" Can ne'er be rooted from the* untutored breaft" 

In the original ftultis, which adjedtive (be it once 
for all obferved) perpetually deiignates thofe who are 
undifciplined by philofophy. Such was the cant of 
the times. 

Satire III. p. 48. 

" And with fome long citation reads him dead" 

** Ocliavius Rufo (fays the fcholiaft) is reported to 
have been both a rigid money-lender, and alfo a wri- 
ter of hiftories. It is therefore here intimated, that 
he employed his influence over his debtors to compel 
their attendance at his recitations." — Is this credible? 
Certainly the habits and characters of an ufurer and 
of an hilloriographer feem to ordinary apprehenfions 
not very congenial. Perhaps the Scholium is only 
one of thofe fhifts of ignorance noticed in a remark 
on the firft Satire. I fufpecl: my author of another 
play upon words : the Greek word fyngraphe figni- 
iies either hiftoria, or cautio, i. e. a bond of fecurity 
or legal form of obligation figned and fealed by the 
borrower of money ; which bond I believe it to have 
been requifite for the creditor to read over to his debtor 
in the prefence of witneffes, before he could regu- 
larly proceed to fue for nonpayment of the intereft 






the Satires. 261 

or principal. Compare Juvenal XIII. 136 — 9. Si 
decies ledlis, &c. 



Satire IV. p. 54. 

" When D if cord brake the ponderous bar 
And oped the adamantine gates of War : " 

A line from Ennius, part of which Virgil has bor- 
rowed, JEn. vii. 622. 

Satire IV. p. 56. 

u And if perchance I failing fay 9 &c" 

The original here contains a line which occurs in 
the fecond Satire of this Book. Horace more than 
once quotes from himfelf. 

Ibid. 

" Now hear the cenfor of the* envenom 'd page I 
Now fee him glow with friendfhips* generous rage /" 

This couplet has nothing ftri&ly anfwering to it in 
the original. It was inferted, to fmooth the abrupt- 
nefs of the tranfition, at the fuggeftion, many years 
ago, of a friend fi nee departed — (one whofe memory 
I mall ever hold dear, dum memor ipfe mei) — the Rev. 
Jofeph Coltman, late Vicar of Beverley. It feems to 
me to fall within' the limits of thofe additamenta 
allowed by Lord Woodhoufelee in his EJfay on Tranf- 
l at ion. 



262 Note 



s TO 



Ibid. 

" Petillius was my very worthy friends" 

The Englifh reader fhould be informed, that in the 
original this gentleman is twice called Capitolinus. 
No tranflation can convey the irony of this term. 
The Romans were accuftomed to annex to the names 
of thofe of their countrymen, who had conquered a 
formidable enemy or performed any other fignal fer- 
vice, a titular name (if we may fo call it) to com- 
memorate fuch exploits. Thus each of the Scipios 
bore that of Africanus ; others were called Dacicus, 
Germanicus, Numantinus, &c. And hence the famous 
Manlius, who defended the Roman Capitol from the 
midnight attack of the Gauls, was furnamed Capito- 
linus ; which fame agnomen was confequently in de- 
rilion applied to Petillius, who ftole the golden crown 
of Jupiter's ftatue from his temple in the Capitol. 
Baron Stolberg in his Travels obferves : " The Ro- 
mans delighted in thefe burlefque agnomina. Thus 
Caracalla, who had murdered his brother Geta and 
caufed all the infcriptions bearing his name to be de- 
faced, was farcaftically nicknamed Geticus, as if he 
had conquered the Geta" The fcholiaft fays that 
the jury (judices) acquitted Petillius, when tried for 
the facrilegious theft, c to gratify Auguflus whofe 
friend he was.' It feems far more likely that he bribed 
them with the profits of his crime. 



the Satires. 263 

Satire V. p. 58. 

Cowper has tranflated this Satire. From his ver- 
fion, inferted in Duncombe's Horace and in his own 
works, I have borrowed a few fragments of lines. 
Thofe who wifh to trace the topography of Horace's 
journey, may confult Gibbon's Mifcellaneous Works 
or Cramer's Italy. Much, probably, of the reliih 
of this Satire is loft to us, by our not being able to 
compare it with a fimilar one of Lucilius, of which 
there is fome room to fufpedt this to have been a pa- 
rody. The 87 th verfe, according to the old fcholiaft, 
was clearly an imitation of one of Lucilius ; and in 
the firft Satire of the fecond Book, vv. 34 — 39 are 
manifeftly written in mimicry of his rambling verbi- 
age, without which interpretation they would form 
a moll iniipid digreffion, quite foreign from our au- 
thor's cuftomary Ityle of writing. 

Satire V. p. 59. 

* * # * cc an j w i t fo a J a H ow c l u fr 

Cut from the Jbore," * * * * 

This circumftance of its being cut from the Jh ore, 
is Cowper's own infertion. ' It is not in the bond.' 
But, being quite in the courfe of nature, I have not 
fcrupled to adopt it. 

Satire V. p. 62. 
" To a fmall town, whofe unpoetic name" 
Equo-tuticum, or limply Tuticum. See WeiTeling. 



264 Notes to 

ad Itin. Antonin. p. 105. He imitates here (fays the 

fcholiaft) Lucilius, who in his feventh Satire had faid 

of the Saturnalia, 

Servorum eft feftu' dies hie, 

Quern plane hexametro verfu non dicere pofiis. 

Satire VI. p. 64. 

u If but their blood in gentle current flows : " 

Literally, if he be but ingenuus — free-born, i. e. 
whofe parents were both of them free at the time of 
his birth. Thofe who underftand the word here to 
mean one of gentlemanlike mind and manners, err 
to to ccelo. 

Ibid. 

" When menial Tullius was advanced to power" 

For an account of Servius Tullius, one of the old 
kings of Rome, as alfo of Valerius Poplicola, Decius 
and Appius, fee Lempriere or any Roman Hiftory. 
Of the Tullius (or Tillius, as Bentley fpells it, on the 
authority of many MSS., with the approbation of 
Zeune) mentioned v. 24, we mull be contented with 
the old fcholiafVs account, that " he was turned out 
of the fenate by J. Caefar, as a partifan of Pompey, 
but after the arTalTmation of J. Caefar, refumed the 
Laticlave and was appointed Military Tribune." 

Satire VI. p. 65. 

" To watch the people's inter eft, &c" 

The engagements here mentioned conftituted the 
form of a fenator's oath. 



the Satires. 265 

Satire VI. p. 67. 

" Poor as he was, fcant as his acres were? 

Qui, macro pauper agello, noluit, &c. Not becaufe, 
but although, he was poor ; as the old fcholiaft pro- 
perly explains it. The conftruclion is by no means 
uncommon ; but, for want of difcerning it, fome 
clever critics have gone aftray. See the article on 
Mr. Canon Tate's Horatius Reft it ut us in the Quar- 
terly Review, an article well worthy of perufal in all 
other refpe&s, and which does credit to its reputed 
author, Mr. Milman. 

Satire VI. p. 68. 

•* His rider galls him in the ribs before" 

Some of the commentators fuppofe Horace here to 
fmile at his own bad horfemanfhip. If fo, Virgil alfo 
mull ridicule the bad horfemanfhip of the young war- 
rior Marcellus, when he fays of him — " Seu fpumantis 
equi foderet calcaribus armos." The fa£t is that when 
a houling-cloth alone was ufed inftead of a faddle, as 
was the cafe with the Romans of old, the rider was 
naturally thrown more forward, fo that his legs would 
chafe the moulders of his beaft in riding to any con- 
liderable diftance. 

Satire VI. p. 69. 

" Thus many a comfort I enjoy, which you, 
Great fir ! and thoufands of the great ne*er knew" 

There is an awkward ambiguity here in the con- 



266 Notes to 

flruction of the original. I have followed Creech, 
Duncombe, and Francis. Mr. Bofcawen's tranfla- 
tion, {lightly altered to adapt it to my metre, will 
reprefent the other conflrudtion : 



In thefe, than you, great Senator ! — in thefe 
And numberlefs refpedls, I'm more at eafe. 



Ibid. 

" Around the lying Circus carelefs ftray, y 

Fallacem, abounding in fortune-tellers, divinis. 
So Sat. I. ix. 30, divina urna, her prophetic urn; and 
in Greek, Sslav 'EAsvou ^v/iv, Eur. Hec. 85. Af- 
fifto, I Hop to Men to, &c. as Tac. Annal. II. 13, 
ajjiftit tabernaculis. 

Ibid. 

" To vifit Marfyas, who with looks of /com" 

Lord Orrery, in his Letters from Italy, fays : — 
" Among the flames (in the gallery at Florence) fcarce- 
ly any one has ftruck me more than the figure, or 
rather the face, of Marfyas flayed by Apollo and tied 
to a tree. It is a mailer-piece of its kind. Rage, 
pain, and difappointment appear moil ilrongly in the 
countenance ; and poor Marfyas feems to anfwer the 
defcription of the damned, by weeping, wailing, and 
gnaihing his teeth. Note : A print of this ftatue, 
engraved by Boitard, is inferted as an ornamental 
piece in Mr. Spence's Poly metis, p. 301." Dr. 
Neville, in his MS. Journal, Apr. 1779, mentions, 






the Satires. 267 

among the choice antique' flatues and bas-reliefs in the 
Galleria della villa Medici at Rome, " Marfyas fcor- 
ticato da Apollo e ligato ad un albore ; fcultura Greca 
della piu grande maniera; ma il foggetto e diguftante." 
Many of the choiceft works of art had been removed 
at this period from the Florentine gallery to the villa 
Medici. 

The learned reader may compare Martial. II. 64, 
and Sidon. Apoll. carm. XIII. 

Ibid. 

" 'Till ten I lie ; then ramble forth ; or write" 

" While refiding at Rome (fays Dunlop fpeaking 
of Horace, Aug. Age, vol. 3, p. 204) he did not rife 
till ten o'clock of the forenoon, though he frequently 
compofed and wrote before he got up." This is 
founded in a miftake. The poet is fpeaking here, not 
of his bed, but of his couch or fofa for ftudy. The 
Romans were very early rifers. He tells us indeed 
that he was not obliged to quit his bed at break of 
day to attend the law-courts : but this does not im- 
ply that he lay a-bed till ten. 

Satire VII. p. 70. 

u With Jiang fo glib as left on wings o 9 tF wind" 

Orig. With white horfes. But wherefore white? 
Some fay, becaufe white horfes are imagined to be the 
fwiftefl ; others, with more probability, becaufe they 
were ufed by kings or fuch as affe&ed to ride in kingly 
ftate, by conquerors in triumphal proceflions, &c» A 



268 Note 



s TO 



learned friend refers to Ulpian on Demofthenes in 
Mid. p. 565, § 43, D. Edit. Buttmann. I mull own 
myfelf not quite fatisfied. One would expect an ab- 
lative cafe, expremng what grammarians call the mea- 
fure ofexcefs, like Ariftophanes's tfXeiv y trraSix Xa- 
\i<rrepo$, " a greater twaddler by a ftadium's length'' 
— and that fragment of Eupolis fpeaking of Pericles 
- — *£l<ntsp iyaOoi fyofieig 'ErJexz iroowv rjpei Xsyujy 
?ov$ pr,T0px$ 9 " Like nimblefl runners in a race, he 
beat All other fpeakers by full fixteen feet." 

Satire VII. p. 71. 

" As whilome Glaucus did to Diomed" 

See the ftory of their unequal change of armour, 
Horn. II. Z. 1 19 — 236, from which laft verfe %pu- 
u"£X jQxXxeuw palled into a proverbial expreffion, 
which occurs in Cicero's Epiftles to his friends and 
elfe where. 

Ibid. 

" Speak — ftrike — redrefs, and trounce this zvorft of 
kings!" 

See Shakip. J. Caef. Ad II, Sc. 1. 

Satire VIII. p. 72. 

For a few lines or portions of lines in this Satire I 
am indebted to a tranflation by a Mr. Stafford, prin- 
ted in Jacob Tonfon's " Odes and Sat}' rs of Horace 
done into Englifh by the moil eminent hands," 1730, 

P . 158. 



the Satires. 269 

Satire VIII. p. 74. 

" Why need I add how, while the ghofts difcourfe 
With Sagana, Jhrill tones encounter hoarfe?" 

Shakfpeare talks of the e fqueaking and gibbering' 
of the ghofts which haunted the ftreets of Rome — 
" Which two emphatic and fingularly felicitous ex- 
preflions (fays Sir W. Scott in his Biographical Notice 
of Mrs. Clara Reeve) he has left as chara£teriftic of 
the language of the dead." — Homer however led the 
way by his rsfgiyvioti in the Necyomantia ; and Vir- 
gil has ' inceptus clamor fruftratur hiantes.' 

Satire IX. p. 74. 

In tranflating this Satire, I have borrowed pretty 
freely from Cowper's verfton or rather imitation of it. 

Satire IX. p. y6. 

" Which once was told me by a gojfip-feer : " 

This fuppofed recollection of an old prophecy feems 
to be in imitation of Homer. See his OdyJ/ey, ix. 
507 — 14 Cowper's Tranfl. 594—600); alfo Od. 
xiii. 172 — 8 (Cowp. Tr. 202 — 10). Much of our 
author's humour coniifts in parody, which has often 
efcaped the notice of his commentators. 

Satire IX. p. jj. 
" But might I ajkyoujuft to ftep afide?" 
Orig. adejje, the technical term meaning e to ap- 






270 Notes to 

pear, in a law-court in favour of any one,' and that, 
not merely by taking part in the proceedings, but by 
lending him one's countenance fo as to influence the 
votes of xhtjudices or jury.. 



Ibid. 
# * # * * cc j n a H j~ uc h ca f es p m tb e man . 
To work my way /"***** 

Baxter (whom Gefner and Zeune tacitly approve) 
makes the claufe " Nemo dexterius fortuna ell ufus," 
a continuation of Horace's fpeech concerning Mae- 
cenas, fubjoining this note : For tun am modo dicit 
magnam five ingentes divitias. Wieland follows in 
the fame track, and tranllates it : Noeh niemand 
wuffte ein grofTes gliick (o gut wie er zu tragen ; i. e. 
" But nobody ever knew how to bear a high fortune 
fo well as he." But furely this fenfe would require 
F or tun am f err e (as Hor. Epift. I. viii. v. ult.) rather 
than Fortuna uti, which feems to be nearly equivalent 
to the Greek expremon Trpcvy^avi p£f>;<r9af(fee Lucian 
de M. Peregr.), e to turn all occurrences to the beft 
account for one's own advantage.' I therefore make 
it a part of the Impertinent's anfwer, in commenda- 
tion of himfelf. tc No one (fays he) has played his 
cards in life better than I have done. You would 
have a powerful amftant in me, to act a fecondary 
part, if you would but introduce (trader e, Gr. tfaf a- 
frisvcci) me to your patron. May I perifh if you 
would not turn all their nofes out of joint!" — Such, 
in vulgar phrafeology, feems to be the ipirit of the 
pailage. 



the Satires. 271 

Satire IX. p. 79. 
" Aye y that I will, quoth I, and turned my ear." 

That is, to be pinch'd : which was the regular form 
of conferring to be bound over to appear as witnefs. 

Satire X. p. 81. 

u Rome's founder, at the hour when dreams are true, 
Rofe in a vifion to my wondering view :" 

This feems to be meant as a fort of parody on 
Ennius's vifion — " In fomneis mihi vifus Homerus 
adefle poeta." 

Ibid. 
" Breathes grace and elegance in Virgil's /train" 
Alluding to his Bucolics, 

Satire X. p. 82. 
" Than that rude bard" * * * 
Ennius. 



272 Notes to 



THE SATIRES. BOOK II. 

Satire I. p. 88. 
<( Cajftus the Jot and Manlius the buffoon;" 
^TT^HIS line is taken from B. I. Sat. 8. 

Satire I. p. 88, 89. 

" Call ?ne what you pleafe, — 
Half of Lucanian, half Apulian growth" 

In this defignation of himfelf Horace feems to be 
giving his readers a playful imitation of the rambling 
manner of Lucilius. 

Satire II. p. 92, 
" While pleafure fweetly fmooths the brow of toil" 

So Shakfpeare in his Tempeft, A. III. Sc. 1. 

There be fome fports are painful ; but their labour 
Delight in them fets off. 

Satire II. p. 97. 

" The fur dy f wain is feen with hoary locks" 

In the original, Mercede colonum, c a cultivator of 
the land for hire.' It feems to have been cuftomary, 
in the cafe of the metati agri — the lands taken by con- 



the Satires. 273 

fifcation from the former pofTeflbrs to be diftributed 
in meafured compartments to the veteran foldiers of 
Rome, to fuffer the former occupiers to fuperintend 
and aflift in the cultivation, and render an account of 
the net proceeds to the new proprietors ; and this 
fome hold to be the origin of the feodal fyftem, while 
others (perhaps with more reafon) afcribe it to the 
national Comites and Principes among the Germans ; 
concerning which fee Tac. de Mor. Germ. The con- 
ftru&ion of the original may be illuftrated by Hor. L. 
II. Sat. vii. 17. mercede diurna conduclum pavit, and 
Juv. Sat. IV. 33. (if the reading be right) Vender e 
??iunicipes pa ft a mercede Jiluros. 

Satire III. p. 98. 

" In vain you curfe the pen, and in a rage 
Pour your refentment on the lucklefs page." 

In the original, paries, which Zeune feems to take 
here for a dejk, adding in explanation ceratus. I fee 
no reafon for departing from the common meaning of 
the word, the wall of a houfe. Horace in a fit of 
anger with his reed or pen, is fuppofed to dafh it full 
of ink againft the wall. Befides, in uiing waxed tab- 
lets, not the Calamus but the Stilus, was the inftru- 
ment of writing. 

Satire III. p. 99. 

ff Heap Plato's zuifdom on MenandeSs wit" 
D. Heinfius thinks that Plato, the comic writer, is 









274 Notes to 

here meant. Ernefti and Gefner (in his Index nomi- 
num) underftand it of Plato the Philofopher. 

Satire III. p. 108. 

" And grim Bellona thundered round his head" 

Alluding to the circumftance that Ambition fome- 
times renders her votaries, as in the cafe of Agamem- 
non, madly eager after military diflindlion. 

Satire III. p. 113. 

" Forthwith, regardlefs of 'your pigmy frame y" 

? Tis not unknown to you, Antonio, 
How much I have difabled mine eftate, 
By fomething mowing a more fwelling port, 
Than my frail means would grant continuance. 
Shaksp. Merch. of Fen, I. i. 






Satire IV. p. 116. 

" Should clarify the mafs with pigeons 9 eggs, 
Which in their fall precipitate the dregs" 

In this couplet and perhaps in fome other parts of 
thefe culinary precepts, I am under obligations to the 
Duncombes. 

Satire V. p. 121. 

" Son of Laertes ! every word, by me 
Foretold, is fure to be — or not to be ! " 

Dr. Parr (fequel to a Printed Paper, p. 36) alters 



the Satires. 275 

Francis's translation thus : 

O Son of great Laertes ! every thing 
Will come to pafs, or not come, as I fing. 

I believe, however, that Horace intended the fenfe 
to be equivocal, thereby covertly ridiculing the am- 
biguity of the oracular anfwers. The learned reader 
may compare Xen. Cyri Expid. IV. 4, 1 5, and Eu- 
rip. Helen. 929, Ed Beck. See alfo Malkin's Eflays, 
p. 415. 

» Satire VI. p. 125. 

" This, I muft own is mufic to my ear ;" 

In the original — " This is delightful beyond mea- 
fure, I will not deny it." The queftion occurs, 
What is fo delightful ? — Pufhing his way through the 
throng, fays Baxter. Nay, returning to Maecenas, 
fays Gefner. I prefer Duncombe's view of the paf- 
fage, who renders it, " Thefe taunts, I own, my 
breaft with tranfport fill." 

Satire VI. p. 127. 

" And hold high converfe with the mighty dead?" 

This line is borrowed from Thompfon's Winter. 

Ibid. 

" Regale on viands plentiful though plain, 
And leave the remnants to the faucy train!" 

I have tranflated this according to the common 



276 Notes to 

interpretation. But I fufpedt that there lhould be a 
comma after pafco in the original ; fo that lib at is dap- 
ibus, meaning c of which a fmall portion has firft been 
offered to my houfehold gods/ is to be referred 
equally to vefcor and to pafco. So Tibullus Eleg. I. 
Et quodcunque mihi pomum novus educat annus, 
Libatum agricolas ponitur ante Deo. " Whatever 
fruit the new feafon produces on my land, is ferved 
up, after having previoufly been dipped into for an 
offering to the God of hufbandry." — 

In this way the paffage is rendered more confonant 
with the old-fafhioned fimplicity of living, in which 
our author here prides himfelf. Juvenal (VIII. 178) 
has, Lectus non alius cuiquam, nee menfa remotior 
ulli. And Seneca (Ep. 47) — Rideo iflos qui turpe 
exiftimant cum fervo fuo efenare : Quare ? nifi quia 
fuperbimma confuetudo coenanti domino ftantium 
fervorum turbam circumdedit. See alfo the 2nd Epode, 
vv. 65, 66. 

Satire VII. p. 130. 

" Are every thing by farts and nothing long : " 

This line is borrowed from Dryden's portrait of 
Zimri (the Duke of Buckingham) in his Abfalom and 
Achitophel. Strange as it may feem, I was not 
aware of the theft, till a friend pointed it out. 



the Satires. 277 

Satire VII. p. 134. 

" Yet he's the loitering vagabond, be Jure ; 

You the nice judge, the* accomplijh'd connoijfeur /" 

Mr. R. O. Cambridge, in ( a Dialogue between a 
Member of Parliament and his fervant,' written in 
imitation of this Satire, (firft publifhed in 1752, and 
reprinted in the Repofitory, 1783) has thefe two lines : 

Yet Frri a loiterer, to be fure ; 
You a great judge and connoifeur. 

It might with good reafon be fufpecled from the 
clofe refemblance, that I had plundered this couplet ; 
and yet I had written my tranflation many years be- 
fore I faw Mr. Cambridge's fprightly poem. This is 
not the only inflance in which I have had occafion 
to experience the truth of Mr. Archdeacon Wrang- 
ham's remark in the Preface to his € Lyrics of Horace/ 
that " it does not always follow, in tranflations affedt- 
ing exactnefs of rendering, that every parallelifm (even 
of exprefhon and of rhymes) is neceffarily zplagiarifm" 

Satire VIII. p. 137. 

" Both ujber'd as friends' friends," 

The beft equivalent I can think of for the original 
Umbra — Shadows, here and in B. I. Epift. V. 



278 Notes to 



t 



THE EPISTLES. BOOK I. 

Epistle I. p. 144. 

" And win my way by yielding to the tide" 

HIS line is borrowed from Pope's Imitation 
of this Epiftle. 



Epistle I. p. 145. 

" He's low, d — d low ! — yet hear the boys at fchool ; 
Let him (fay they), whom virtue crowns, bear rule /" 

See Herod, in the early part of his hiftory, con- 
cerning Cyrus and his play- fellows. 

Epistle I. p. 148. 

. " Gifted with honour, beauty, freedom, wealth, 
And (pleafe the rheum tofpare him ) fpecial health " 

( He alludes (fays Dr. Jof. Warton) to the difor- 
der of his eyes, which Celfus alfo calls Pituita.' See 
Sat. I. v. 49 ; where we find Horace and Virgil re- 
tiring to enjoy a ft 'eft a, the game of tennis (to which 
Maecenas applied himfelf) being ill-fuited to the weak 
eyes of the former or the indigeflion of the latter. 



the Epistles. 279 

Epistle IV. p. 154. 

cf Tour ft ep o*er dewy lawn and breezy wood, 
Mufing on what befits the wife and good" 

An taciturn lilvas .... bonoque eft ? — Pope has 
imitated thefe lines in his Windfor-Foreft, v. 249. 
" Or wandering thoughtful in the filent wood, At- 
tends the duties of the wife and good ; " as Wakefield 
has obferved in his edition of Pope, firft and only 
vol. p. 83. 

Epistle IX. p. 166. 

" And truft him for a good man and a true /" 

This laft line is borrowed from Prior's Imitation 
of this Epiftle. — The Reader will alfo do well to look 
to a free profe tranflation, accompanied with fome 
judicious remarks in the Spectator, No. 493. 

Epistle XI. p. 171. 



<s." 



" And Ulubrte may prove the feat of b life, 

Perhaps Bullatius had a country-houfe near that 
little town. It was fituated in the diftricl: of Velitras 
(now Velletri) near the Palus Pomptina, whence Ci- 
cero (Ep. Fam. VII. 18) calls the inhabitants frogs. 



280 Notes to 

Epistle XII. p. 172. 

" Fled from Italians plains is Famine grim. 

And Plenty pours her born replenijb'd to the brim" 

This might probably be a very ufeful piece of in- 
telligence to Iccius in his then commiffion. The 
words Vilis amicorum eft annona, &c. probably allude 
to the fame. Xenophon in his Mem. Soc. at the 
clofe of B. 2. has a fimilar figure, where Socrates fays : 
" Prudent managers tell us it is advifable to purchafe 
when the market-price is low; and at prefent (he 
adds), on account of the public troubles, good friends 
may be had a pennyworth" — evovvoraroi. 

Epistle XIV. p. 175. 

" And then thou 'rt fain to ply thy ruftic toil" 

The conflruclion here is fomewhat ambiguous. 
Without entering upon a critical difcumon, it may be 
fumcient here to fay that the general fenfe may per- 
haps be more juftly given thus : — c Nay more — 
thouTt forced to ply thy ruftic toil.' On the phrafe 
Et tamen fee the following note. 

Epistle XV. p. 177. 

" Indeed their favour I have well-nigh loft" 

Et tamen illis me facit invifum, &c. " And in- 
deed he makes me out of favour with them, &c." 
The phrafe et tamen is often ufed (as in Greek alfo 






the Epistles. 281 



kcc) pjV or xa) /uavtoi) where a weaker preceding 
reafon is fuperfeded by a more conclufive one follow- 
ing, or where a fufpicion is confirmed by matter of 
fa 61. I have amaffed a multitude of examples, which 
would be out of place here. But the learned reader 
may fatisfy himfelf of the truth of this remark, if he 
will only take the trouble of examining the context 
in Cicero's Cato Major, c. 6, where the following 
claufes occur : — Et tamen ipfius Appii extat oratio . . . 
Et tamen fie a patribus accepimus. Ovid, Hyperm. 
Lynceo, v. 36, has 

Circum me gemitus morientum audire videbar 5 
Et tamen audibam, quodque verebar erat. 

Neque tamen occurs in the fame manner in Cic. 
Ep. Fam. IV. 12. Ab Athenienfibus locam fepul- 
turae intra urbem ut darent impetrare non potui, quod 
religione fe impediri dicerent, neque tamen id antea 
cuiquam concefferant. — In Soph. JEd. T. oCSs pctv 
itors XdSa xotrctxoi^oco-si, there is no ground with 
Elmfley to alter the text, which in Latin would be 
rendered " Neque tamen unquam oblivio fopitura 
eft." — iEfch. Prom. 468. xot) y.vjv dgtQ[Abv — t%svgov, 
where (from an imperfect apprehenfion of the force 
of the particles xcu pj v ) Mr. G. Burges is led on no 
adequate grounds to fufpedl a lacuna. In Xen. Cyri 
Difcipl. vii. 3, ult. the proper reading feems to be 
tea) u.r t v xod to \hvr^x fis%$l rov vvv rocv EJvo^wv 
xkyjL'jvtyai Xeysrai, 



282 Notes to 

Epistle XV. p. 178. 

<c And, Beftius-like, of thrift the champion ft aunch, 
Swore Luxury Jhould be branded in the paunch" 

Scilicet at ventris kmna candente nepotum Di- 
ceret urendos, corrector Beftius. But why (afks 
Lambinus) fhould fpendthrifts be branded in the 
belly, rather than in any other part ? This queftion 
Dacier well anfwers, by citing a paflage from Galen 
(de Placit. Hippocr. et Platon. Lib. VI.), who fays 
that even in his time (the latter part of the fecond 
century) it was the cuflom of mailers to chaftife 
their refractory Haves by branding with a hot iron, 
fcarifying and flogging them — if runaways, in the 
fhins — if pilferers, in the hands — if gluttons, in the 
belly — and if babblers, in the tongue. 

There is a pafTage in Xenophon's Mem. Socr. 
which I beg leave here to quote in the original, be- 
caufe I fufpect a flight error in the text. Speaking 
of the manner in which matters were in the habit of 
correcting their Haves, he fays (II. i. 16) 'Aoa ov ryv 
[jiay X&yveloLv ccvtccv r<2 Xijau) <rou(pgovityv<n ; — Sturz 
in his Lex. Xenoph. has this glofs : " Actyveia, im- 
modica libido, lafcivia, falacitas. Sed Mem. II. i. 16. 
videtur paulo latius accipiendum de omni lafcivia." — 
This fhows that he was not quite fatisfied with the 
application of the word here in its ordinary fenfe. I 
conjecture that, inftead of Xccyyslocv Lewdnefs, the 
original reading was A/%v£/ay, liquorijbnefs. There 
could not be a more appropriate method of correct- 
ing the lick-difh Have, than to put him for a time on 
fhort commons. 



the Epistles. 283 

Having been thus led to the notice of this delight- 
ful work of Xenophon, perhaps I may be allowed to 
mention another flight correction of a pafTage, beyond 
all doubt corrupt, in the fame performance. At the 
beginning of B. 1. c. 4. for wV read 0%. The pafT- 
age then will Hand thus: ol$ sviot ypd$ov<r{ rs xcc) 
Xzyovri teg) ocvrov rsx^ocipo^svoi. The conftruction 
is clear from a pailage in the fame Treatife, II. vi. 
6. ov ro~$ \oyoi$ avrwv rsx^oc^o^svoi. The fylla- 
bles oig and w$ are often confounded : as in Eurip. 
Iph. Aul. 309. oi\\oi$ dpiWui favr, dtpsg $s r^vS' 
zpo) ; and in Soph. Elect. 1278, where if for aAAo;- 
<ri we read ccWcvs <re, the fenfe and the conftruction 
are at once made clear. 

But (to return to Horace) the reading correBor is 
eftablifhed by Bentley beyond all difpute. There 
ihould, however, be a comma after urendos as Bentley 
has it in his note, though not in his text. Horace is 
remarkable for omitting the particle of comparifon, 
and thus identifying the thing compared with that to 
which it is compared. Ex. gr. fee Epift. I. ii. 34 
and 42 ; iii. 19 ; vi. 40 ; II. ii. 28 ; and Epod. xvii. 
35, where by mentally fupplying ficut before ojficina, 
all difficulty is removed. On this ground I prefer 
the reading of the Cod. Harl. in Eurip. Hec. 78. o$ 
p6vo$ Qixcuv dyxvg IV 'spuiv. Another MS. has srr', 
a reading obvioufly derived from the fame fource. 
The clamcal reader will, I truft, not be difpleafed 
with this little excurfion (as the Germans call it), 
though he may not perhaps yield his afTent to it in 
every particular. 



284 Notes to 

Epistle XVI. p. 182. 

" What Bacchus does to Pentheus in the play ;'' 

See the Bacchae of Euripides, in Potter's tranflation, 
v. 531—537; in Woodhull's, Ed. 1809, vol. 2. p. 
367 — 8. The preceding companion of the covetous 
man, exemplified (as ufual) by the large Farmer and 
the trading Merchant, to the flave in a private houfe- 
hold who is employed in tilling the land or bearing 
burdens, appears to me eminently happy. 

Epistle XIX. p. 192. 

" That fob er folks turn poets, Heaven for ef end ! 
Such to the Courts and Libo's Font I fend " 

This diftich is, doubtlefs, taken from Ennius. The 
word e dixit (which fome would change into edixi — 
others into edixti) refers to Ennius mentioned juft 
before, and means only " he declared with authority." 
The Putcal or Font-lid, erected by Suibonius Libo, 
feems to have given its name to that part of the Forum 
where the Bankers and Money-lenders tranfacted 
bufmefs. 



THE EPISTLES. BOOK II. 

Epistle I. p. 201. 

' c Navius (fo much is time the foul of verfe ! ) 
None read, but all can frefh by heart rehearfe." 

ROM feeing his Plays acted on the ftage. Bent- 
ley's notes on the leviter curare videtur, and on 



F 



the Epistles. 285 

in manibus non eft, are ingenious, but to my mind not 
convincing. 

Ibid. 

<c * * * * Pacuvius bears the prize 
Offtudious art * * * *" 

Docti — fenis. In tranflating this verfe, as likewife 
in the Characters here given of Terence and Caecilius, 
and of the aclors ^fopus and Rofcius, I have paid 
attention to Hurd's admirably judicious notes on vv. 
56 and 59, at the fame time recommending them to 
the perufal of the reader. 

Epistle II. p. 212. 

iC My ftock, though f mall, is yet (thank Heav'n) my 
ozvn" 

ec It is a poor thing, but mine own," fays Touch- 
flone in Shakefpear's As you like it. 

Ibid. 

" Scared at the rod in pickle Jkulking lay 
Beneath the ft airs ^ 

The rod ufed to be hung up on the ftaircafe, be- 
caufe flaves about to fuffer flagellation were tied to 
the Hairs. See Arifloph. Ran. 631. Jacobf. ad Ru- 

Mn. Epig. 2j. 






286 Notes to 



Epistle II. p. 214, 



a 



Twas mine at Rome in boyhood to be taught 
What woes Achilles' wrath to Greece had wrought " 

Homer was the firft Greek book read in the higher 
clafles of the Schools at Rome, as may be feen in 
Plin. Ep. II. 14, and Quintil. Inft. I. 17. There is 
a Greek Epigram fuppofed to be written by a poor 
fchoolmafter, which may be rendered thus : 

Achilles' wrath has proved indeed to me 

The direful fpring of pedant poverty. 

Better that wrath had in the battle-field 

Crufh'd me, than Grammar's flow ftarvation kilTd ! 



Ibid. 

" She clear d my mental vifion to ohferve 

Duty's firaight path y mid error's tortuous curves" 

Mr. Canon Tate, in the firft edition of his Hor. 
Reft, had, with Dacier and Gefner, interpreted v. 44 
as alluding to the ftudy of Geometry, but in the fecond 
edition judicioufly retraces that opinion, and, with 
Baxter and Zeune, refers it to the ftudy of moral phi- 
lofophy. Befide the reafons which he aihgns (which 
reft chiefly on Perfius, IV. 1 o, Rectum difcernis ubi 
inter Curva fubit, and III. 52, Curvos . . . mores), 
would not Horace, if he had intended here to allude 
to mathematics, have ufed the Feminine forms, curva 
. . reclam ? The words ypa|Xju,Tj in Greek and Line a 
in Latin, being both Feminine, occalion efftj and 



the Epistles. 287 

retta to be applied elliptically to denote a right line ; 
and the fame reafon holds for a crooked or curve line. 

Epistle III. p. 223. 
" They are not bad y but they are out of place" 
This line is borrowed from Pope's EfTay on Cri- 
ticifm. 

Epistle III. p. 228. 

" And fafer Jhall the bard his pen employ, 
With you, to dramatize the Tale of Troy" 

From the word deducis, as here ufed, it feems not 
improbable that the elder of the young Pifos had 
compofed, or was meditating to compofe, a Tragedy 
framed upon fome fcene in Homer's Iliad. Had 
there been no fpeciiic reference of this kind, furely, 
inflead of carmen deducts, the expreffion would rather 
have been deduces carmen. 

Epistle III. p. 234. 

. " Nor all with patience hears or deigns to crown 
That with the nut-and-grey-peafe tribe goes down" 

From the Tatler for April 30, 1709, it appears 
that at that period it was cuftomary in London to 
hear cried about the flreets in an Evening, " Grey 
peafe warm." 

Epistle III. p. 235. 

" At leaft if you and I with fenfe are bleft 
To tell a clownijh from a courtly j eft " 

For this couplet I am indebted to Francis. 






288 Notes to the Epistles. 

Epistle III. p. 237. 

" And, though no artift, prove afrie?id to art." 

This verfe, if I rightly remember, is borrowed 
from Hay ley. 

Epistle III. p. 240. 

" But of poetic worth a moderate jh are 

Not Men — not Gods — not Bookfellers can bear," 

Rubric-pofts is Colman's very happy rendering of 
Columns. " It is not many years, fince two Book- 
fellers refided there (in Little-Britain), who were ufed 
to fport their Rubric-pofts clofe to each other, as 
Tom Davies once did in RufTel-ftreet. Perhaps 
Sewell in Cornhill was the laft who exhibited the 
leading authors in his mop in that way. How few 
people now remember when it was no uncommon 
thing to do fo ! " Nichols's Lit. Anecd. Vol 3. p. 405, 
note. When I fay, a happy rendering, I refer to the 
time in which Colman's tranilation of this Epiftle of 
Horace firft appeared, 1783. Atprefent the Rubric- 
pofts are almoft as obfolete as the Column a of Horace. 

Ibid. 

" What is not publijhed, you can blot or burn ; 
But zuords, once uttered, never can return." 

This couplet is borrowed from Colman, for the 
be ft pofhble reafon — becaufe I could not render it 
better. I wifh the fame to be underftood in all other 
cafes where I have made free with the labours of 
others. 

the end. 











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